


Death Note Oneshots and Scenarios

by dragonsareourfuture



Category: Death Note
Genre: /Reader, Added Misa because she is lovely, Angst, Bullying, Cute, Death Note/Reader, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Multi, Platonic Relationships, Reader-Insert, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Shinigami, Yandere Characters, gender neutral reader, mentions of bullying, relationships, yandere death note
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:06:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 45,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24292567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonsareourfuture/pseuds/dragonsareourfuture
Summary: A lovely assortment of Death Note oneshots in which you are paired with the characters! Most are romantic, though I have peppered in some platonic and maternal/paternal relationships as well. The reader is meant to be gender neutral, so please feel free to let me know if I make any slip ups in that department in the comments! I will be sure to fix it as soon as possible!Have fun!
Relationships: Lawliet/reader, Light Yagami/Reader, Matsuda/Reader, Matt | Mail Jeevas/Reader, Mello | Mihael Keehl/Reader, Misa Amane/Reader, Near | Nate Rivers/Reader, Ryuk/Reader
Comments: 35
Kudos: 302





	1. Mello/Reader — Makeover

Whenever you and your boyfriend decide to watch a movie together, you always get sidetracked. It’s difficult for you to focus on the movie alone, unless you’re so tired that all you can do is sit and watch. But usually, you had to have some other little task to occupy you while you watched, and it drove Mello crazy. Especially when that task involved him.

“Can I  please do your hair?” You begged, leaning up against the blond and already tugging on strands of his neat, soft hair.

“No,” he deadpanned, popping another piece of popcorn in his mouth. He didn’t even regard you as he stared at the screen where all the action was.

“ Please?  Why not?”

“Because.”

“Oh, very convincing. You should be a lawyer, Yellow Mello.” You giggled, falling against his shoulder with your hands still messing with his locks. “‘ Why shouldn’t this man be convicted?’ ‘ Because ’ .”

“(Name), can I just watch the fucking movie?”

“Only if you let me do your hair.”

Mello sighed and finally looked you in the eyes. At your eager stare, you supposed he figured that you wouldn’t relent until he let you give him a little makeover. Not that he needed it, the little cutie.

“Fine, just don’t mess it up too badly,” he warned, running his own pale hand through his hair, straightening his bangs that rested on his forehead and ended just a little below his eyebrows.

“Yes! Thank you!” You cheered, bolting up to retrieve a hairbrush, a mirror and some hair ties from the bathroom. You soon returned and immediately crawled around the back of your hesitant boyfriend, sitting on the back of the couch in order to get he best angle.

You started by brushing through his hair, not even finding a single knot or tangle. You raised your eyebrows, “Wow, you really take good care of your head mop.”

“I like it to look nice. Also, please don’t call it that.”

You hummed and continued with your work, the sounds from the movie becoming mere background noise as styling Mello’s hair became your top priority.

“OW! What are you doing back there!?” Mello shouted as you tightened the ponytail you’d given him.

“Don’t worry about it.”

You smoothed out the strands of hair you had left dangling, framing his narrow face along with his bangs.

“Alright, first style down! What do you think?” You questioned, handing him the mirror and watching his face contort in the glass into one of mild discomfort.

“I look like a girl...”

“An incredibly cute girl!” You defended folding your body practically in half in order to peck his charred cheek. 

“And you can see all the scars...”

“Yeah, but they’re badass. Trust me, Mels. You look amazing.”

Mello only scoffed. It seemed that he forgot you could see his face in the mirror as he continued to survey himself in the glass, because a tinge of pink rose onto his cheeks and he allowed a delicate smile to grace the lips you so enjoyed kissing.

“Keep going.”

Your eyes widened and hands froze midway as you were about to take the hair supplies back to the bathroom.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Can you do a braid next? Maybe even one of those buns?”

You happily got to work on undoing the ponytail and separating his hair into three sections. “Of course I can, Mels. Oh! You know what’d be cute? Pigtails!”

“That’s where I draw the line-“


	2. Mello/Reader — Rain

The orphanage was never exactly structurally sound. Whenever you were blessed with April showers, the walls would practically vibrate as each little drop hit the wood. If you were oh so lucky, the roof would fail and leaks would sprout all around the place. Roger claimed hundreds of dollars were put into repairs every time a particularly terrible storm came through, so you were expecting about that much to be withdrawn from the bank as soon as the sun came up.

Normally a rain like this would put you right to sleep, the sound of every droplet like a bullet on the windows easing you into unconsciousness, but tonight you couldn’t even close your eyes. You lay awake, thinking of the blond hot head about your age whom you shared a wall with. He never did well in storms. You never pressed him as to why that is, you assumed that it had something to do with his past. Either way, you had no issues whenever he felt so overwhelmed that he would knock on your door at night and ask to sleep alongside you.

He would wait until he was in the worst possible state, trying his absolute best to stay strong for his own pride’s sake. You told him time and time again that there isn’t any shame in having fears, but his stubborn nature was too hard to crack.

Just as your eyes finally grew tired and your breathing slowed to an even, steady pace, consciousness about to leave you, the sudden creaking of the door caught your attention. You lifted yourself up onto your elbows and rubbed the darkness from your eyes, a vision of black and yellow coming into view.

“Mello...” You managed. You supposed you were more awake in your mind than you were physically, hence why your mind would not stop racing yet your body moved like a sloth.

“Y-Yeah...” the boy hugged himself and his eyes darted towards the window, the glass looking like a waterfall as endless amounts of rain pounded against it. “D-do you mind if I-“

You raised the covers off of yourself and gestured for him to crawl into bed. As soon as he was given the invitation Mello threw himself onto the soft mattress and pressed his head into your shoulder, arms clamping around your waist and squeezing as tight as a boa constrictor. You wrapped the covers around his trembling body as well as your own.

“S’okay, I’m here...I’m here,” You whispered, barely audible above the rain and in your exhausted condition it was difficult to force your voice out any louder. You rubbed circles onto the small of his back and ran your fingers delicately through strands of his smooth, blond hair which still held the lingering scent of soap.

Mello nodded, holding you closer, heavy breaths tickling your skin. A sudden burst of thunder followed by the flash of lightning so bright it appeared to be daytime for no more than a second caused an already terrified Mello to flinch violently in your arms. He’s been through enough, why couldn’t the universe just let him rest?

“It’s alright, Mels. You’re safe. You’ll always be safe with me.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”


	3. All — How You Sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be more of a Preference/Scenario type. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> I added Misa in later just because I think she’s wonderful.

Mello~

This “tough guy” loves to be the little spoon. Most think it’s the other way around, but he really just needs someone to hug him and hold him close at night. 

Now, don’t get me wrong, he would never admit this to anyone. Mello is the epitome of 

“Are you the little spoon or the big spoon?”

“I’m a KNIFE.”

“He’s the little spoon.”

You would usually press your face into the back of his neck while you spoon him, leaving kisses occasionally if Mello can’t get to sleep or seems restless. 

Matt~

This idiot spreads out on the bed like a starfish while you find a comfortable spot amongst his limbs, usually pressed up against his side or just straight up on top of him.

This all started when he tried to take up all the room on the bed just to tease you, just to be flattened when you jumped right on him and fell asleep. You guys kept this little routine going after that, as you both grew quite fond of it. 

Now, this is a bit of a problem when there’s nothing but a twin bed to sleep in. One of you will most likely wake up on the floor, and let’s just say it’s usually not Matt.

L~ 

The detective was never really too keen on sleep, but didn’t want to deprive you of such a privilege. 

His solution was to allow the you to curl up in his lap comfortably while L balanced a laptop on his knees or a pillow. 

Sometimes L would sit crisscross (strange to imagine, huh?) or lay sideways on the couch, depending on how much you complained about back and neck pains earlier that day.

You could rest peacefully in the comfort of L’s own arms while the tireless detective continued to work. Win-win situation if he did say so himself. 

Near~

Though the little sheep doesn’t spend much time unconscious, he does eventually get around to it. Usually he only considers sleeping if you ask him to do so. If he didn’t have you, he’d be a complete zombie for sure.

So, when he does participate in the activity, he loves to be curled up in your embrace. He just feels safe that way — safe from the world, safe from Kira, safe from himself. 

You will usually both be on your side, Near’s arms wrapped around your waist while he buries his face into your neck or chest. You would have one hand in Near’s white, curly hair while your other hand rubbed small circles onto his back to help ease the boy to sleep. 

Near is extremely cuddly with people he actually wants around him.

Light~

He hates getting too hot in the middle of the night, but he still wants to make sure you are safe and content. How you combat this is by laying separately on your own sides of the bed, but always be touching somehow.

Whether it be holding hands or having your legs intertwined underneath the covers, there’s always some degree of subtle contact.   
  


Matsuda~

Honestly, this sweetheart just gives you the most cuddly bear hugs the entire night. If you complain about being hot, he’ll just throw the covers off of you and continue to hug the life out of you.

This gets a bit awkward when you need to use the bathroom at night, but it ends up fine one way or another. And if you have to throw Matsuda off of you in order to get up, so be it. He sleeps like a rock, anyway.

Misa~

Misa is a very enthusiastic person and loves to talk about her day with you before you go to sleep. She’ll be chatting animatedly one minute then get drowsy the next. Whenever you notice her start to lose her gusto, you pull her close to your chest so that you can still listen to her talk but she also has you to fall back on once she loses consciousness.

Sometimes Misa will wake up in the morning and even in the middle of the night picking up where she left off on her story when she fell asleep. Even if you’re exhausted, you will gladly hear her out.


	4. Mello+Matt/Reader — Cooking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt and Mello’s experiences with cooking with their significant other. Enjoy!

Mello~

“I just had the best idea!” You cheered, storming into Mello’s room early in the morning to tell him the idea that popped into your head before you forgot.

Mello looked as though he had just woken up, hair still a matted mess and dark circles below his eyes. “Hmm?” He mumbled, seated at his desk and absentmindedly scribbling words on scraps of paper. You noticed that he did this whenever he was angry or stressed, which made you second guess asking him to help you with your plan.

“Well, I found out that today is Roger’s birthday, and I thought that we could bake him a cake!” You rocked on the balls of your feet, nervously awaiting a response.

“‘ We ’? No,  you can do whatever you want. I’m not baking a birthday cake for that bastard.” The blond sassed.

You stepped closer to his desk, sitting cross legged on the floor and pushing your bottom lip out. “Please? If you do something nice for Roger then you could throw it back in his face whenever he tries to scold you.”

This made Mello pause. He sighed then dropped his pencil on the desk and pivoted in his chair to face you. “What kind of cake do you think he’d like?”

“Yay!” You shot up, grabbing Mello’s hand and pulling him to the kitchen.

You had most of the ingredients, the only thing missing was vanilla extract.

“Don’t worry, I know a good substitute,” Mello insisted when you informed him of your dilemma. You shrugged and began combining flour, milk, and eggs into a large bowl as the recipe instructed. You were assigned with making the actual cake and Mello was in charge of the icing.

Your arm grew tired of mixing the batter, so you set the bowl and whisk down on the counter and stretched out your aching arm. You peeked over at what Mello was up to, but his back was blocking your vision. Upon craning your neck to see him pouring a blue liquid into the icing, you grabbed his shoulder and swiped the bottle from his hands.

“Drain cleaner!? Really, Mello? This isn’t ‘Heathers’!”

“If it we’re, would that mean I’m JD and you’re Veronica?“

You roll your eyes. “It better not mean that. Now we don’t have any icing. Nice going, idiot.” You huffed, tossing the drain cleaner back into the cabinet under the sink.

“Look, we can just make more- oh.” Mello held the empty bag of powdered sugar and shrugged. “Oops.”

You wouldn’t talk to Mello for the rest of the day — not when you shoved the vanilla cake into the oven, not when you washed all the dishes by yourself, and certainly not when you both presented the icing-less cake to Roger, who was nice enough to not mention the lack of decoration.

“Maybe next time I won’t be tempted with the drain cleaner.”

“You fucking suck.”

Matt~

“Aaaaand it looks as if they’ve been burnt, folks! The cupcakes have been burnt!” Matt mocked in a sports announcer voice as you pulled the steaming tray from the oven.

“That’s enough, Matt! I can’t believe I burnt another batch!” You tossed the charred blobs into the garbage can with a sigh.

“Why don’t I help?” Matt proposed, getting up from his chair and taking the cupcake tray from your hands.

“No offense, but do you have any experience with baking? I haven’t ever seen you do it.”

“I’ve seen an episode of Cupcake Wars. How hard can it be?”

You shrugged and let Matt take over.

He’d mixed the batter, humming to himself as you observed. After a minute or so of whisking, Matt shooed you out of the room, claiming that you threw off his “creative flow” when you stared like that. 

At that point in time you were just ecstatic that nothing went horribly wrong yet and you trusted Matt for whatever reason, so you left the brunet to his own devices. Though, trust is fleeting and, upon conjuring up mental images of Matt’s hair on fire, you decided it would be best to at least check on your boyfriend.

You crept up to the kitchen door, peering around the corner to see not only the cupcakes out of the oven ten minutes early, but Matt eating the scolding yet uncooked batter with a spoon.

“Matt, what the hell!?” You shrieked, giving your hiding spot away and rushing up to Matt’s flour-covered self.

“What?” He asked through a mouthful of chocolate batter.

“You barely saved me any!” You scolded before pulling your own spoon from a drawer and scooping up a huge portion of the chocolate liquid from one of the tins.


	5. L/Reader — Family

The three of you stepped through the threshold, greeted by a wall of dust illuminated by the wide open windows on every wall of the spacious house. You waved your hand in front of your face, dispersing the dust particles as you walked further atop the floorboards, the wood creaking under every step.

“Well, it isn’t a palace, but...” you reasoned, reaching out behind you in search for the hand of your husband. He aided you, placing his hand in your own as you gazed around at the possibilities of your future home.

“Yes it is, mommy!” Your daughter exclaimed, her delightful shouts echoing around in the unfurnished home. “It’s awesome!”

“I’m glad you think so,” you chuckled, watching your precious little girl skip around, kicking up more dust and paying no mind as she sneezed repeatedly. You turned to the black haired man you had married, his head falling a bit low, about to your shoulder, at how much he was slouching. You nudged his ribs lightly with your elbow. “What do you think, Honey?”

L brought his thumb up to his mouth and pressed it against his lips, eyes darting around as if scanning the place and deducting percentages. Knowing your husband, that probably wasn’t too far from the truth.

“Adequate,” he began, taking a deep breath, about to say more. You prepared yourself for all the reasons the house was wrong for your family and how likely it was that the roof would collapse on top of you at night. (Daughter’s name) piped up before he could even begin.

“‘Adequate’?” She mocked in L’s monotonous voice. You had to cover your smile with your hand as she continued, “This place is so cool! I guess the ‘world’s greatest detective’ can be wrong sometimes!”

“Hey, watch it,” L warned, a fragile smirk playing on the edge of his lips, “Though I may not be solving cases anymore, I have a perfectly good reason for that.”

“That’s right,” you agreed, rubbing L’s shoulder and curling your fingers around his paper white hand, “your dad’s taking a break from the detective stuff to spend time with us. Though, I do agree with (Daughter’s name). You are completely wrong.”

“Wow, thanks.”

You broke away from your husband to grab your daughter’s delicate hands and spin around in a circle. “I mean there’s so much to this place we could transform into an amazing dream home! Like over here—“ you guided your daughter and husband into a well lit pop-out room off to the side of the house “— this could be an office or a yoga room or—“

“None of us do yoga.” L pointed out.

“We can learn!” You continued to drag your family around different parts of the house, pitching ideas on what room could serve what purpose. When it came to the obvious bets like the kitchen or the living room, you and (daughter’s name) designed the layout and decor while L stood in place, wanting nothing more than to watch his two favorite girls lost in their excitement about their future.

“And a trampoline can go here!” Your daughter pointed to a spot in the living room, jumping up and down and looking at her parents hopefully.

“Maybe we can save the trampoline for outside,” You proposed, throwing open the door to the backyard and pulling (daughter’s name) along with you. Your shoes squished under mud from earlier showers as you and your daughter scouted out a spot for the trampoline to go.

L chuckled to himself, wondering what he’d ever do without you and his little girl. His heart swelled with pride remembering your wedding, the day you told him you wanted to have a kid with him, and even the day you brought your newborn baby girl home from the (hospital/orphanage). Back then you were both just inexperienced and clueless, trying to figure life out as you went along. Despite L being the world’s greatest detective for the majority of his life, that in no way meant that he knew what he was doing in any other field. And, as he learned one day at a time how to be a parent, that certainly showed.

Even then, as he roamed the house he had bought, he couldn’t help but wonder “what now?” However, there was little time to dwell on planning. Little time to worry about what would proceed the events that just played out. Yet, all the time to thoroughly enjoy the moment he lived in right then with the only two people he considered important.

His family.


	6. Mello/Reader — I Forgive You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being bullied for their entire life by the second best at Wammy’s was never (name)’s intention. But as Mello changes with new life experiences under his belt and attempts an apology, will he ever be forgiven?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am actually rather proud of how this one turned out. If you have a hard time reading about bullying, then I would suggest that you skip this chapter. For the record, I don’t think Mello would abuse or bully anyone just because he’s angry, but I had the idea and thought it would work best with his personality and background. 
> 
> And, as a simple reminder, treat others how you would like to be treated. Once you’ve done something, it is not always possible for that action to be forgiven and forgotten.

When you first arrived at the spiked gates that guarded the church-like building, you had figured it was a chance at a fresh start — an opportunity to build on what you had learned and grow from that in a more stable environment than the dirty streets of town had been. You remember standing eagerly at the entrance of the orphanage, watching the children around your age kick around a soccer ball, seeming so carefree. It made you yearn for the days when you would feel that way. When you could leave your past — pickpocketing strangers in order to eat and being roughed up by thugs and privileged brats with parents who barely regarded their actions — behind you.

What the orphanage brought you, however, was the opposite. Just your luck, the very first day of your stay you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

You had been skipping back to your assigned room after getting a snack from the kitchen. Your mind was blossoming, filled with daydreams of the future to come when you probably should have been more aware of your surroundings. You just couldn’t help let your mind wander when you didn’t have to worry about your survival every spare second of the day.

You were broken out of your daydreams as the sensation of something hard colliding with your shoulder caused your small body to stumble. You toppled to the ground, howling with pain as your arm got caught underneath you and bent in the worst way possible.

With your mind clouded with searing pain as you clutched your arm close to your chest, feeling dizzy already, you searched for the source of your fall. A blurred vision of yellow and black sunk into view. It appeared to be the shape of a person looming above you, saying something that took a few repeats of the same sentence for you to hear without the ringing in your ears. The pain shot up your arm and, though you wanted to make sure the person you had bumped into was alright, you were focused on the fact that your arm, limp at your side as you sat up, was most likely broken.

As the pain got more bearable, the person standing in front of you became clearer. He was dressed in baggy black garments, standing at a height that couldn’t have been much taller than you were, but in this position it was hard not to be intimidated as he leered down at you. His jaw length blonde hair framed his face, casting a terrifying shadow. A scowl contorted his features in a way that told you he was having absolutely no shit today and that you would be better off running.

When you didn’t move, the kid crouched down and moved his hand towards you. For a second, you assumed he was helping you up. But when his fist shot towards your body with speed that made you wince, a brutal blow to the side of the head told you otherwise.

“What’s the matter with you?” His voice echoed, already dizzy from the burning pain in your arm and now disoriented thanks to the new bruise you were sure was forming on your scalp. “Can’t you watch where you’re going?”

As he was standing now, he delivered an aching kick to your stomach, causing your weak and broken body to flop to the floor pathetically. You choked on air, having the wind knocked out of you and your snack from earlier was threatening to show itself again. Your stomach churned painfully as you screwed your eyes shut. It was always best to just wait it out.

Images from the streets swirled around the depths of your mind, the thieves and gangs and bratty children who got sick pleasure out of beating you into unconsciousness resurfacing. This kid was no different. It was all the same and, the more you thought about it, you could never escape the same old shit.

You must have slipped into unconsciousness because after what felt like a blink later you awoke in a bed, your arm bandaged up and an ice pack resting on your head. Upon hearing you stir, what must have been the nurse hurried to your side and berated you with questions — were you feeling alright? Was the ice pack too cold? Did you know where you were?

All you could answer with was, “What happened?” Your voice groggy and rough as you attempted to sit upright.

The nurse pushed you back down, scolding you and telling you to rest. “You should thank that boy,” she said, adjusting your broken arm and the covers around your waist, “He brought you all the way here. Said you fell down he stairs.”

Although your brain was a bit foggy on the details, you were quite sure that was  not what had occurred. You began to protest, but the nurse hushed you with her finger over your lips and instructed you to sleep a while. As she pulled the curtains around your bed closed, separating you from the other sick kids, you sighed in defeat.  This was how it was going to be?

Once you had recovered enough from your injuries, you were released from the nurse. You scratched at the cast around your arm nervously as you walked down the hall to your room — your intended destination the previous day — however, much more cautious this time. The gray light that shone through the windows made the hall look much more eerie, raising your alertness to the height that it should have been the day you received your injuries.

However paranoid you were feeling, your nerves met their peek when the shadow of someone standing next to the window caught your gaze. Your head whipped around to face the person the shadow belonged to, coming face to face with your assailant from yesterday. He leaned against the glass, one hand buried in his pocket while the other held a bar of chocolate to his lips. You stared him dead in the eye, waiting for another attack that never came. Neither of your glares relented — yours filled with fear and his so aggressive that you felt your bandaged arm throb with discomfort — as you stalked past the blond.

“Nasty fall you took there,” He said, snapping off a chunk of the chocolate with his teeth.

You flinched at the sound, hurrying away after that.

To think that this treatment would cease after that encounter with the boy would be a foolish sentiment. Not only did it continue, but it got worse with each passing day. As you got older and more observant, you noted different behaviors of the blonde who’s name you learned to be Mello. Of course, that was only a code name, but it was his preferred alias so the kids at the orphanage referred to him as such.

Mello was number two in the training program held at Wammy’s Orphanage to become the next great detective, the one who would solve the world’s most dangerous yet interesting cases until their time was up and a new heir would be chosen. Whenever this other kid, Near, who was considered the first in line to become the next great detective, beat Mello in anything (whether it was in class or something as simple as who’s bed was made neater) the blonde would turn right around and take his anger out on you.

You tried to reason with him through the pain, spitting out blood and words of comfort towards the boy, but this only made him hit you harder, screaming about not wanting or needing your pity.

Once you got too old for childish beatings, rumors began to spread around the orphanage, some as tame as saying that you slept with a stuffed animal, while others were particularly nasty. This was worse than the beatings in your mind. You would rather experience physical pain for a short amount of time than have no one that wanted to talk to you for the rest of your life. Well, one person did stick around for you when you needed it most.

Mail Jeevas, or as you called him around the orphanage, Matt, was always by your side no matter what he heard about you from other kids. He seemed to think that the rumors were childish and cruel, going as far as to talk to Mello about retracting them but, as everyone knows, once you say something there is no taking it back. 

It meant the world to you that Matt had even tried considering he was friends with Mello (how anyone could be friends with him, you had no idea) and standing up to the particularly violent kid was, in your book, a profound act of bravery. He never failed to stick by you even after Mello had ran away from the orphanage. You were so attached to your wonderful friend that you asked to go with him when he announced that he would be leaving as well.

“Please! I can’t stay here with you gone! I’m gonna go crazy here alone!” You begged, watching as Matt packed his clothes and belongings in a plain black duffel bag.

“(Name), I know you’re scared, but out there, in the real world, there are things that you’re not trained for.”

You lunged are the brunet, grabbing his arm desperately as if that would change his mind. “I don’t care. Anywhere’s better than here. Just...please.” 

“This way is more efficient. You stay here-“

“This way is going to get us killed. You can’t handle yourself alone out there, no offense, and I will go insane if I stay here! No one is on my side here besides you.”

Matt glanced at the floor and then back at you. You pushed your bottom lip out and batted your eyelids pleadingly. He let out a breathy laugh and sighed, “Well, are you gonna start packing?”

“Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, Matt! I won’t let you down! We’ll be a team!” You exclaimed, jumping around before bolting off to your room to pack.

* * *

You had elected to stand on the sidelines. Sure, it would have been an amazing feeling to be able to throw that fact that you saved Mello’s life back in his face if he did survive the burns, but you couldn’t even bear the thought of touching him after so long of being free from his torture. 

So, you watched from the sidelines as Matt fearlessly dove into the flames to scoop up the blond’s near lifeless body, charred and smelling of burning flesh, from the wreckage of the building that once stood as a warehouse, a base for Mello and his mafia associates. The heat from the fire distorted the image as Matt carried the boy closer to where you stood. You gazed down at Mello’s unconscious, helpless form, reveling in the triumph of seeing the previously indestructible (at least in your young eyes) boy so powerless.

Matt broke you out of your trance with frantic words. “We need to get him medical attention.”

“Do we  really ?”

Matt narrowed his eyes at you and you raised up both of your hands in defeat, “Fine. We can’t bring him to a hospital, so I’ll run out and get some supplies.” you instructed, beginning to walk through the rubble with Matt to the cheap car he drove, the heavily used Camaro being the only thing he could afford considering you both lived on your own with no job. “You take him back to the apartment and I’ll be back as quick as I can.”

Matt nodded in agreement and loaded Mello carefully into the back seat of the old car, being cautious of the bloodied burns that covered most of his left side. He dropped you off at the supermarket close by and took Mello the rest of the way home, fixing him on the bed and waiting until you finally burst through the door with a shopping bag full of medical supplies. You had to remind yourself to keep your face steady as you neared the bed with your childhood “ _friend_ ” lying on it. Even when Matt had found him and housed him in the apartment, he had no problems with you renting another room in the complex. But now, what with all the medical attention Mello most likely needed, you had no choice but to stay by his side.

You cringed as you wrapped Mello’s body in clean, white bandages, every touch to his otherwise smooth, pale skin sending you back to your days at Wammy’s. You covered his arm with cloth, vivid images ofwhen you broke your own arm because of him flooding into your mind. But still, you wondered if this was payback, maybe karma. Mello having to endure the flames licking his skin as a punishment for all of the times he’s hurt you. You wondered if he ever thought about you in what he must have figured were his last moments.

You were torn from your thoughts when a gentle groan emitted from Mello’s lips. He raised his good arm to his head and ran his hand over his aching features. “What...hnng?” The blond managed, opening the eye that wasn’t enveloped in flames and now soft bandages to scan the room, jolting as he saw the figures of you and Matt sitting by the bed.

“Hey, Mihael...” Matt greeted softly in an attempt to ease the boy gently into consciousness.

“Who...eh...Matt? And...” Mello trailed off, propping himself up onto his elbows to get a better glimpse at you.

You avoided his gaze, bowing your head so that your chin rested on your shoulder, speaking so quietly that if it weren’t completely silent in the room, no one would have heard you, “So, you don’t recognize me when I’m not covered in bruises, then?”

Mello’s eye widened for a second before fluttering shut. “(Name)...it’s you?” If you didn’t know better you would say that he was exasperated when your name rolled off his tongue.

“Yeah.” You rose to your feet with a burst of confidence as though suddenly realizing that he was confined to a bed with severe burns all over his body and you were free to do whatever you pleased. “It’s me. Disappointed?”

“(Name)—“ Matt started, interrupted as you continued.

“Were you expecting the same weak little child that you could beat on all the time? Oh, but you poor thing, you can barely move, can’t you? I guess karma really does catch up to a person—“

“(NAME).”

You froze, unaware that you were now towering over Mello, fists clenched in fury and face a burning scarlet. Your breathing was heavy and ragged. Your eyes darted to Matt, then back to Mello. If you weren’t mistaken, there was a flicker of genuine fear in his eyes. Rather than filling you with pride, this fact terrified you beyond belief. You had no intention whatsoever of becoming like Mello, and as soon as you realized you were so close to acting upon your rage, you stepped back and retreated to the couch on the far side of the room.

Although you kept your face buried in the couch cushions, you could tell that someone was getting up judging by the shifting of fabric. To your disappointment, the slow and careful movements exemplified someone with an injury determined to not harm themselves any further.

The couch dipped as the blond sat next to you, grunting and rubbing his arm under the thick layer of bandages. “I...I’m...” he began, unable to get the words out before swallowing hard and trying again, “I’m sorry.”

You let out a dry laugh, lifting your head but not to look at Mello. “Oh, really? Because it seemed to take a lot just to get that word out.”

“Listen, you-!”

You jumped when his voice rose suddenly, pressing yourself against the armrest of the sofa, further away from the blond. Matt was listening in as well and at the harsh tone in Mello’s voice he stood from his chair, more than ready to intervene. But Mello had caught himself, releasing a deep breath from his nose.

“I really am sorry. I know you won’t forgive me this quickly but—“

“Tch, yeah, no shit.”

“Y’know, you’re making this really difficult.”

“I’m making this difficult? No, Mello. You made this difficult when you picked on me and tortured me. And for what!?”

“I shouldn’t have taken out my anger at Near on you, but I—“

“You can’t take back the past.” You finished. Mello nodded and stared down at his lap. Matt was still in ready position. “I just...I just need time. Can you give that to me? Some time...”

And that’s what you took, lots and lots of time to think things over. On the one hand, you hated the idea of forgiving him. He made your life, which was supposed to be better off at Wammy’s, a living hell. You had to work for years on rebuilding your shattered self esteem and had to learn how not to recoil when anyone so much as came near you. But, on the other hand, he could have changed. As you have built up your confidence and skill, he may have learnt kindness and guilt. It was possible, but even so, did it change anything?

Over the course of the next few weeks it was Mello’s mission to give you everything he took away from your childhood. The things you dreamed of while you lived out your days fighting for your life. First and foremost, you’d always wanted a parental figure — someone to hold you when times got tough and to give you advice about stupid little trivial problems like boys or what clothes to buy. How he knew this about you was not in the most honorable way, having stolen your journal as a child and made you watch as he smeared mud all over the pages but not before reading every single entry. But, he figured it was the only information he had and he was determined to use it for your benefit this time.

Later that week Mello unexpectedly announced that he was taking you on a drive, instructing Matt to hold down the fort and put down his video game for at least a couple of minutes to watch the security cameras the three of you had set up overlooking the suspected Kira’s home. Once in the car, intense curiosity filled your head as blaring rock music invaded your ears. You cringed, reaching to switch off the radio so you could actually think coherent thoughts. 

“Where are we going?” You questioned now that the music wasn’t in the way of your voice reaching Mello’s ears. “And shouldn’t we be helping Matt?”

“He can handle himself.” Mello kept his eyes on the road, switching the music back on and tapping his thumb on the steering wheel of Matt’s old Camaro.

“You still didn’t answer my question. And why aren’t we taking your motorcycle?”

“Jesus, you ask a lot of questions.”

“I just like to know where I’m going with the strange man who used to beat me up all the time. Is that so wrong?”

Mello let out a sigh. “No, I guess not.” He was almost inaudible over the music. He gave you no clues as to where your final destination was, and you began to wonder if he even knew, himself. But eventually, with a sigh of relief that you weren’t lost, the car pulled into a parking garage after you got a glimpse of a sign for a mall. You recoiled in surprise, but said nothing, figuring he was just using that parking garage to be discreet while your actual destination was down the street or something. However, when you exited the car, a surprisingly eager Mello took your hand and dragged you out of the parking garage and towards the front entrance of the mall.

“Wait— Mello, what are you doing?”

“Just hurry up! Let’s get this over with,” Mello huffed, fighting against your resistance by pulling at your hand harder, coaxing a whimper from your throat.

“M-Mello, stop! You’re hurting me—“

At your words he let go instantly, causing you to fall backwards into the pavement.

“Oh, god, (name)! I’m sorry!” He shouted, throwing his hand out to help you up and freezing when all you did was flinch and hide your face.

Mello carefully retracted his arm and crouched down next to your form. He could only gape wide eyed for a full minute, stunned at the effect his past self had on you. Guilt made itself known inside his chest, weighing him down like his heart had suddenly turned to stone. He wondered if his heart had always been cold if he ever thought of treating someone like he once did.

Mello went for attempt number two, gently brushing his fingers over the hands that covered your face and wrapping themselves around your wrist. He pulled you to your feet and stuffed his hands back in his pockets to show that he meant no harm.

“I...I thought that we could go shopping. Didn’t you want someone to take you to one of those little shops in your town? Well, this is the closest thing we got here.”

Your eyes flitted to the giant, glowing logo above the entrance to the mall. You nodded slowly and took your place alongside Mello as you both entered the castle-like building. Mello asked you where you wanted to go first, pointing you over to a directory and listing a few stores he thought you might like, strongly urging you to stop by Hot Topic at least once during your trip. You agreed, wanting to see why he was so fond of the store.

Once you arrived at the small section that was dedicated to “Hot Topic” you immediately saw what attracted Mello to the store so much. Even the entrance practically screamed “Mello” and the inside was even more uncanny.

The blond explored the isles, offering clothes or accessories to you occasionally and, if you felt they’d suit you, you accepted them. There was still a tinge if tension in the air — as Mello hadn’t seen you in a long time and even when he had, he never took the chance between punches to note your clothing style — the two of you quickly collected enough items to load a truck. Mello shepherded you into a dressing room and, as you tried on different outfits, gladly took back the clothes you eliminated from your mountainous pile, handing you new sizes if you needed them.

When it came to be checkout time, you had two bags worth of clothes clutched in your hands as Mello dug through his wallet, which you couldn’t imagine there being that much money in until he pulled out a credit card. Although the cashier accepted it without a problem, you whisper yelled to Mello, “Where on earth did you get that!?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

You rolled your eyes, but let him continue. The cashier handed Mello back “his” credit card and beamed at the pair of you. “Here you are. And, may I add, you two are an adorable couple.”

You and Mello both looked at each other, surprise and uneasiness swimming in your eyes, but acting as a couple would be much better than trying to explain your complicated situation to this poor person who just wanted to complement you.

“Thank you.” You and Mello droned animatedly, hurrying out of the store with your bags to allow the next person in line the check out.

This little exchange didn’t come up again until the drive back to the apartment when Mello asked, “Do you think we looked like a couple?”

“Nah,” you shrugged, rifling through your shopping bags to peer at your new items excitedly.

“So, are you at least close to forgiving me?”

“I might be on my way,” you said in a joking manner, but in truth you were quite serious. A single shopping trip wasn’t going to change much, though it did spark something in your heart when you thought about the gesture. “How did you know?”

“Hmm?”

“How did you know that I wanted someone to take me shopping? I only wrote that in...oh...”

Mello would have hung his head in shame if he didn’t have to keep his eyes on the road. You shifted uncomfortably.

The sound of the engine and the tires against asphalt being the only sound in the car became too much to bear. You reached out and turned the radio on, rock music filling the rest of your drive home.

Mello occupied his thoughts with the next entry of your journal that had embedded itself into his mind. This particular entry raved about the food in your town and how it always smelled so good from the whiffs you got from outside. You wished you could go in and try some but, given your filthy state, the employees would have thrown you out. Besides, what money would you use to purchase such food?

For the next day or so, Mello looked up the best restaurants to visit. Ones that had good yet also fairly cheap food since he blew most of his money treating you to new clothes. Matt would’ve killed him if he found out that their survival money was being spent to simply prove a point to you, but luckily he never did.

As it turned out, there was a fairly well known cupcake shop that resided in the walls of your small town that also happened to be a wide-spread chain throughout the current area.

Mello snapped his laptop shut and grabbed his coat from the back of a chair.

“When’s (name) coming back?” He hurridly asked the redhead, who was busied with his game console and a family-sized bag of chips.

“Uh, I don’t know. Soon. Why?” Matt responded lazily.

You were on a supply run for the bare necessities and it had taken Mello around forty five minutes to find the location of the cupcake shop just outside of the city already. Without any time to waste, the blond wordlessly threw open the front door and sprinted out to his motorcycle parked in the sketchy parking lot outside the apartment building. After revving up the engine the blonde went at top speed in the direction of the cupcake shop, wanting to greet you with the cakes when you returned. This was futile, however, as you arrived back at the apartment from your shopping trip early and waited for nearly an hour before a huffing and puffing Mello came bursting through the door.

Both you and Matt reached for your guns before you realized it was only Mello, startled as the door was practically knocked off its hinges. Mello shielded himself with the white box he clutched in his gloved hands, screaming that it was only him.

“Your point?” You asked, keeping your gun aimed at the panting boy half jokingly before lowering it with a sigh. You gestured to the box. “What’s that?”

Mello placed the box on the coffee table and slid it over to you, knocking headsets and game cartridges out of the way in the process. You peered through the translucent window on the top of the box and your gaze softened. “Oh, Mello...”

“I found that one cupcake shop in your town—“

“You went ALL THE WAY—“

“No, no! There’s another one right outside the city.”

“That’s still a long way.” By now you had opened the box and plucked a red velvet cupcake from the assortment. “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. I should be lying down my life for you because of what I’ve done.”

You stayed silent, unsure of what to say and peeled back the wrapper on the fluffy red cake, taking a bite. You hummed in delight and picked up the box carefully so that none of the cupcakes tipped over, offering it to Mello.

He raised his hand in protest, falling back into a chair after tossing his coat onto the armrest. “I couldn’t. They’re yours.”

You wouldn’t relent, thrusting the box into his chest. “True, but I’m willing to give up at least one.”

Mello allowed the slightest smile to tug at the corner of his lips, reaching his hand in and picking out a chocolate cupcake with rainbow sprinkles scattered over the icing. He thanked you in a hushed tone as he licked the stray bits of icing from his fingers.

“What, I don’t get one?” Matt intruded. You picked a vanilla cupcake from the collection and shoved it right onto his lips, the icing and sprinkles sticking to his face. “Gee, thanks.”

You giggled and plopped yourself down onto the couch after slapping Matt’s calf as an instruction to get it out of your way or else you’d crush it with your butt.

After happily chewing and finishing his cupcake, wiping off the chocolate residue from his face and hands, Mello directed his attention to his cellphone which had just started ringing. The blond clicked the “answer” button and he pressed the phone to his ear as you and Matt carried on your careless banter right beside him.

Mello listened for what felt like an eternity, yet the numbers on the digital clock by the couch never changed. He hung his head, determined to keep his reaction to what he was hearing secret from the two people beside him as blond strands of hair fell like a curtain over Mello’s sharpened features.

“It can be resolved by having a name written in the notebook?” The blond mumbled, his back slumped and elbow resting on his knee. His words seemed to catch your attention as you cleaned Matt’s face of vanilla icing with a spare napkin. “Well then...if I don’t do it...”

“Mello? What’s wrong? Who is that?

Mello waited for an opportunity to hang up, doing so and gazing up solemnly through his bangs which still covered the majority of his narrowed, blue eyes.

“Nothing to worry about,” Mello assured, sharing a knowing glance with Matt before shoving his phone in his pocket and out of sight, “Just a wrong number.”

You shrugged and took another bite of your cupcake, blissfully unaware of the battle ensuing inside Mello’s head.

* * *

When they told you their plan, you had all but thrown a tantrum. It was insane, reckless, and was sure to fail miserably but that didn’t seem to stop the duo as they rushed out the door to execute their foolish plan. Of course they had waited until the very last minute to actually mention to you what was going on, knowing full well that you would protest.

“It’s not gonna work! You’re both smart enough to know that so why on earth are you going!?” You hollered, stomping your foot like a child and throwing your hands about in a fit of anger and panic.

“It’s all gonna work out in the end, I promise,” Mello rambled hurriedly while throwing on his biker jacket and tossing Matt his car keys. The blond shoved his hand in his pocket and felt around for something before he tore it from its hiding place and thrust it in your hands. “Even if I’m not here to see it, you will be.”

You stood in utter shock, having heard him basically admit that the plan was a suicide mission, as the brunet and the blond slammed the door in your face. Their footsteps carried all the way down the flight of stairs until they disappeared. The silence surrounding you seemed to break you from your trance as you tore after them, only to catch up enough to see Matt pulling out of the parking lot and Mello just placing his bike helmet over his head.

Your ears seemed to ring as you clutched what he had given you to your chest — an envelope. Mello mounted his bike, ready to drive off when he saw you standing by the apartment building’s entrance. Though it was tough to see through the tinted wind guard of his helmet, you could have sworn the boy shot you a smile full of regret.

Before you knew it, he was gone in a cloud of smoke.

You hadn’t even realized you’d been crying until the splash of your tears on the envelope caught your attention. As you listened to the retreating sound of a Camaro and a motorbike, you tore open the envelope and pulled out a crudely folded piece of paper. Upon unfolding it, the writing was messy and rushed. You assumed Mello had written it in the few moments that he had before he had to leave. You were able to decipher the chicken scratch nonetheless.

_(Name)—_

_This isn’t how I imagined formally apologizing to you, but it’ll have to do._

_All I ever got to do for you was ruin your life and then give you some lame attempts at making it up to you._

_I swear if I come back from this I will take us off the grid. I’ll take you back to your old town and you can live how you’ve always wanted — you can eat in all the dumb little cutesy bakeries and shop in the most expensive stores. You’ll live the life you’ve always deserved and I’ll do everything I can to make sure that happens. I swear to you, if I make it out alive, I can be that person you’ve always wanted you hold you when times get tough and give you advice about some stupid guy you like. Because, even after this short amount of time we’ve spent together, I realize that if anyone deserves that, it’s you.  
_

_If I don’t make it out alive then, well, that sucks for me. If that happens to be the case, I’ve collected all that money that I’ve “earned” and used it to get you a plane ticket to England. You can live that amazing life you’ve always wanted without the burden of me there dragging you down and reminding you of some of the the worst times in your life. Just make sure to find me a nice burial site, alright? Or maybe cremate me. I don’t know, whatever._

_I guess the whole point of me writing this letter is to say that I’m so, incredibly sorry for everything that I’ve done and have yet to do. My words will never be enough, written or otherwise, but I just want you to know how deeply I wish I could go back in time and fix my mistakes. Fuck the butterfly effect._

_Just do me one favor and please live a happy life without me there to ruin it for you._

_-Mihael_

You dug into the envelope once more and, sure enough, there was a plane ticket to Winchester, England. He knew he wasn’t coming back.

And, as Mello had planned, you boarded that plane on your own, nothing but a carry-on bag filled with new clothes and his letter to accompany you. The tear stained sheet of paper had worn terribly from how many times you read it. Your eyes scanned over the messily written words during the entire flight, fingertips delicately tracing the indents the pen had made. You tried to be happy for your friends who had sacrificed their lives for the good of humanity, but you couldn’t help but sob silently for the entirety of the flight. You thanked the heavens that no other passengers were in your row of seats, as they might have heard you whisper through dry and cracked lips,

“ _I forgive you_.”


	7. All (L/Reader) — Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and your husband Lawliet are celebrating your daughter’s first birthday with your closest friends. Kind of crack-ish? There isn’t a whole lot of romance in this one, I just love the adorable family dynamic so I had to write it. Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

“WHERE? WHERE IS MY NIECE?”

“Jesus, Misa! Be careful!”

As soon as these voices were heard, Roger was sure that all peace and quiet for the day would be cast out the window. Even so, he put on a cheerful smile and exited the kitchen to greet yours and L’s bittersweet friends who had just begun removing their shoes to place in the neat shoe rack in the foyer.

“Ah, Light Yagami and Misa Amane, glad you could make it,” Roger began.

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you. I apologize for the short notice, but L had mentioned that it was his daughter’s birthday and we just had to attend,” Light explained with a faux, closed-eyed grin as he lifted a bag decorated like a birthday present for further explanation.

Roger nodded curtly and took the present from Light, holding out a hand to direct the couple towards the kitchen where the festivities were to be held for that evening.

Misa perked up again when she laid eyes upon the infant being bounced on your knee, giggling absentmindedly.

“There she is!” The enthusiastic blond squealed, practically shoving her boyfriend of three years out of the way to kneel in front of the babbling child like she was a god.

You giggled at her antics and let her squish your baby’s cheeks between her fingers. “Hi, Misa. It’s been a while.”

“I know! It has, hasn’t it?” Misa cooed, words directed at you but using the high pitched voice one uses to speak to a child nonetheless.

Light ambled into the kitchen hesitantly, eyeing L, who was standing over you as you sat on a stool at the counter, his hand on your shoulder while the other one resided in his pocket. Light nodded politely, his features stiff and his shoulders tense as if waiting for L to provoke him at any second. L easily picked up on Light’s careful movements and squared his shoulders, correcting his posture a bit though his dull expression never changed. Luckily, the tension was snapped when the front door opened once again and two college-age kids stepped into the cool interior of the fairly large home.

L seemed to relax more now that more people he was comfortable with began filing into the space. The pair in question — a lazily dressed brunet adorned with a cigarette and orange-tinted goggles as well as a leather clad blond with horribly melted flesh on the left side of his face and arm — came through the threshold and packed themselves into the already tight-fitting kitchen, bickering with each other all the while.

“Matt, just put it over there.”

“No, I wanna give it to her now!”

“Be patient, asshat!”

“Hey, no language like that in front of the baby!”

“What? I said ‘hat’.”

You snapped your fingers to get the boys’ attention and gestured for them to just hand you their present already. Matt happily stepped forward and handed you a crudely wrapped gift. Not to mention, they had used crumpled newspaper and a length of thread to tie the gift together. Matt shot you a sheepish smile and admitted, “We couldn’t afford wrapping paper...”

“Aw, guys, this is more than enough! Thank you.” You glanced down at your daughter and allowed her tiny yet strong fingers to curl around your own. “Can you say ‘thank you’, (daughter’s name)?”

The little girl bouncing on your knee gazed up, recited gibberish at the two boys and stuck out her slimy tongue, drool slipping from the corner of her mouth.

“You’re welcome, little one.” The brunet patted the girl’s head and (daughter’s name) grabbed at his wrist. He let her tug his hand down and stare at his fingers in awe, even if her hands were covered in baby saliva.

Mello let out a subtle chuckle and pulled out one of the stools lined up at the counter in order to sit next to you. He gestured to the “elegantly” wrapped present and smirked, “Matt picked it out.”

Matt was too busy to hear this admission as he was wiggling his fingers in front of (daughter’s name)’s face, causing uncontrollable giggles to burst from her toothless mouth.

You puzzled at the gift for a moment before consulting L, who merely shrugged. You figured he of all people would know what the pair was capable of considering he had lived with them for a good amount of time, but he came up empty. Before you got a chance to open the gift, however, Roger piped up with a question for Matt.

“So, Matt, how’s your job been?”

Matt paused and stared blankly at the man who used to house him, caught off guard by the question, opening and closing his mouth like a beached fish. “Uh,aha...well, I uh...”

“He’s been doing great.” Mello chimed in, glaring daggers at the man.

“Oh, that’s good to hear. Tell me, what is it you do, again?” Roger continued. Mello shifted his glance to Matt, an expectant and impatient expression laced onto his narrow features as if they had rehearsed this very conversation back at their apartment and had to follow a script.

“I’m a gamer.” Matt choked and Mello could barely help but throw his head into his hands. “It’s a real job.”

“Oh, I’m sure it is, son.” The older man seemed to find triumph in the outcome of this conversation and retreated to the living room before the victory was taken from him.

“Nice one, man.”

“I’m sorry, okay!?”

“Hey, Matt, there’s no shame in doing what you love.” You offered kindly.

“It would help if it payed the bills...” Mello mumbled, to which you sent a harsh kick to his shin.

The lot of you were unable to hear the door open and close thanks to Mello’s yelp of pain and Matt’s howls of laughter, and as quiet as Near was it wasn’t a surprise to have him suddenly appear out of nowhere.

“There you are, Near! How’ve you been?” You greeted cheerily, hoping to make up for the white haired boy’s lack of enthusiasm.

The pajama wearing boy merely hummed and crouched down in front of your child, being able to since Misa was long gone, huddling up next to Light and chatting animatedly with Gevanni, who had escorted Near to the party. The baby bopped Near’s fluffy head with the flat of her palm. He didn’t seem to mind, though.

As Roger carried in the cake it was difficult to refrain from laughing as L’s eyelids practically disappeared, leaving most of the whites of his eyes visible. The light from the birthday candles flickered in his irises. It appeared that he was in some sort of trance. When the cake was set down on the countertop you turned so that your daughter was facing the treat, placing a gentle yet firm hand on L’s shoulder as he twitched as if he would lunge for the cake.

“Should we start singing then-?”

“No!” Chirped your daughter as she slapped a hand down into the icing, leaving a tiny handprint that claimed her piece of the marble cake.

Laughter was heard around the room and Roger shrugged as he began cutting everyone pieces of cake.

Once everyone was finished and (daughter’s name) was sufficiently covered in crumbs and icing, you all shifted to the living room to start opening presents.

As your little girl pawed are the first gift, a collective gasp echoed through the room when the front door all but burst open. The metal knob most likely dented the wall as it slammed. Roger winced, nothing on his mind but the time he’d spend on repairs.

“I’M HERE!” Matsuda announced with a boisterous laugh, delighted to see that the party was still in full swing. However, his ear to ear grin didn’t last long as he noticed everyone’s surprised and confused faces staring back at him.

“Did you invite him?” L whispered in your direction.

“Um...no I don’t think so.” You replied, putting a smile on your face nonetheless. You stood, handing your daughter over to L as she waved the half opened gift in his face to which he smiled lightly. “Hey, Matsuda! You’re just in time for presents!” You hugged him tightly around his waist, attempting to make up for how terrible you felt for not inviting him yet also curious how he got here if neither you or L had mentioned the occasion to him.

“Oh, good! I was sure I missed everything! I felt terrible! Oh, here.” Matsuda passed you a colorful, neatly wrapped package adorned with a festive silver bow. Your stomach dropped even further with guilt as you realized how much time he put into the gift. “Light told me about (daughter’s name)’s second birthday and I couldn’t miss it!”

You couldn’t help your lips from stretching into a wide smile when you looked back up at the usually forgetful and clumsy man. “Come on, wouldn’t want you to miss out,” you said, taking him by the hand and leading him to sit with everyone else.

“Alright, now just open our present already!” Matt exclaimed, practically bouncing up and down on the couch cushion. You laughed, not remembering the last time you saw him this excited. You assisted your daughter in getting the rest of the “wrapping paper” off of the gift inside. It was a case, almost like a DVD case but smaller, and as you flipped it around you could read “Call of Duty” on the cover.

“Call of Duty!” Matt shouted, throwing his fists in the air.

“As I already told you, I did not pick that out,” Mello defended.

“But now me and (daughter’s name) can play it together! Right, (daughter’s name)?”

Your little girl clapped enthusiastically at Matt’s offer.

“Great. Thanks, Matt.” L took the game from the still cheering girl on your lap and put it to the side.

After the rest of the presents were opened and wrapping paper littered the floor, people began to say their goodbyes. All of Wammy’s boys opted to stay and help clean up, sharing a beer afterwards. Well, more like Mello and Matt shared a beer. L helped himself to the leftover cake that had been set aside to be packed up into Tupperware. Near sat on the floor next to the counter, playing with (daughters name) and unboxing all of the new toys she had received from earlier.

“Oh, shit. Matt, we should get going soon. It’s getting dark and I gotta be up by five.”

“Since when have you been so business oriented?” You questioned with a smirk, referring to Mello’s new job at the chocolate shop. It wasn’t much and he knew that, but it was pretty much the only thing he was qualified for after spending the entirety of his college years in the mafia.

“Since I was almost fired the other day.”

At the mention of this unfortunate event, Matt had to stifle a laugh as he elaborated, “Turns out businesses don’t like it when you take most of the merchandise home with you.”

“I swear to god, Jeevas, get in the fucking car.”

“Language!” Matt reminded with a devilish smile.

You swore Matt could have dropped dead with the glare Mello was sending his way. The brunet relented and gave you a goodbye hug once you stood from your perch on the stool. He then bent down and swiped (daughter’s name) from the floor.

“Hey,” Near began to protest.

“Oh, shut it, you fucking sheep.”

Matt covered the little girl’s ears and looked at the blond like he should know better. Mello rolled his eyes as tiny hands batted at the feathers adorning the collar of his floor length coat. “Hello.” He said plainly.

“Aw, c’mon, Mello! Hold her!” Matt insisted, holding the child out to the reluctant blond.

“I don’t wanna get spit all over me, thanks.”

“Think fast!” Matt literally threw your child into Mello’s arms, leaving him no choice other than to catch her from mid air.

“Don’t  _ do _ that!” You scolded, leaning against L (who had just arrived by your side) out of pure relief that Mello possessed decent reflexes. Crumbs fell into your hair from the corners of L’s mouth as he wiped them clean, appearing to not be phased by your child taking a little flight.

L then stepped forward when he noticed the blond struggling with how to hold the infant, thrown off by her ever-moving limbs and intense gaze. Your poor postured husband adjusted the girl in his younger counterpart’s grasp so that he balanced her on his hip, arm supporting her bottom. He looked more nervous rather than disgusted.

“There you go.” L lightly patted Mello’s leather clad back comfortingly, as if silently telling him that he was doing well.

“Yeah...this is fine...”

Near stood from the floor and shifted his gaze over to you, eyes soft and pleading. “May I hold her?”

“Really? Off to steal my thunder, are you?”

“You looked uncomfortable.”

“I’m always uncomfortable. It’s part of being me!” Your baby was then shielded from Near by Mello’s protective, feathery shoulder which (daughter’s name) had begun to chew on.

“Mihael, why don’t you let Near have a turn?” The blond boy tensed at the sound of his real name but, once he seemed to remember it was only coming from you, he thrust (daughter’s name) into Near’s chest, waiting for him to wrap his arms securely around her.

Matt twirled the car keys around his index finger. “C’mon, like you said it’s getting dark.”

“Oh, yeah.” Mello gave you a quick one armed hug, doing the same for L and heading out the door without even acknowledging Roger who was clearing up the now empty cake tray. “See ya.”

Gevanni made you nearly jump out of your skin as he appeared out of thin air to consult Near, who still rocked the baby in his arms, on what time he should start up the limousine.

“Now that I think about it, we should let our friends rest. It was lovely to see you three.” The white haired boy politely parted ways with you, climbing into the limousine and waving through the tinted window. (Daughter’s name) flopped her tiny hand around in an uncoordinated wave. It was barely noticeable, but Near allowed a smile to pull at the corners of his lips as Gevanni drove away and out of sight.

You sighed, curling your fingers around L’s hand. “That was fun, seeing all of them again.”

“Yes, it was. We should do that more often.”

“We should actually invite Matsuda next time instead of waiting for him to show up. I enjoy his company.”

“If you say so.”

You slapped L’s shoulder with the back of your hand.

“Meanie.”


	8. Ryuk/Reader — Best Friends for...Life?

The mornings were never really your favorite occurrence, awaking from sleep only to be slapped in the face by responsibilities and burdens of every day life.

Only, today was different. Today was Saturday, named after the planet Saturn and one of the only days of the week you didn’t have to worry about school. Sure, Sunday was fairly enjoyable as well, but you could do without the constant looming threat of waking up early the next morning.

On days like these you needed no alarm. You would leave the curtains wide open and allow the blinding sun to be your alarm clock, waking you as it shines through your eyelids.

You had already pulled on your clothes, ran a comb through your (hair length) (hair color) locks and scrubbed at your teeth with your toothbrush. It was much too early for breakfast, the feeling of slight nausea weighing in your stomach as you made your way down the stairs of your two story home.

Although you weren’t in need of breakfast, a note pinned to the refrigerator door caught your eye. Examining it, your mother’s handwriting scrawled out “Gone out for a run, will be back in an hour! -Mom”

You let the corners of your lips twitch upwards in a delicate smile, calling over your shoulder, “It’s fine for me to talk to you, Ryuk.”

The gruff tone of the Shinigami responded, “Finally! I hate being ignored.”

You chuckled, adjusting the strap of your backpack to rest higher on your shoulder as you faced your newest companion. The shark-like fangs, broad shoulders tapering down to spindly legs, and clothes that looked as though they had been found while dumpster diving may have thrown most people off, but you had grown accustomed to the sight. Even felt relieved when it crossed your vision.

The reason this creature was following you around was an unusual one — for you had come across a Death Note. A god of death dropped his notebook and you were the one lucky enough to pick it up. This meant that you were the only one who could see the creature.

You had yet to use the notebook, but you were still rather skeptical about its so called “power” to kill people just by writing someone’s name while picturing their face. It seemed rather unlikely.

“Why do you need your backpack? From what you told me, you don’t have anywhere to go today. Unless you tricked me, and you know how I feel about being tricked!”

You rolled your eyes at the childish creature. You had no idea gods of death could be so immature. “I thought we could go out for a walk today. The backpack has the Death Note in it.”

“You’re gonna try it out?”

“Maybe,” You shrugged, walking through the creature and to the front door, cracking it open before turning to face Ryuk again. “It depends whether I find someone who deserves it.”  


* * *

The park was the perfect place to set up camp. You parked yourself on a bench and pulled out your phone, placing the screen to your ear as if you were answering a call so that you could speak to the Shinigami without drawing unwanted attention.

“So, Ryuk, what do you wanna do?”

The Shinigami recoiled in surprise. “You’re asking me?”

“Yeah. I’m curious, what would a god of death like to do in the human world?”

Ryuk tapped his chin with a razor sharp fingernail, scanning the park with curious yellow and red eyes. “Hmm...What’s that infestation of tiny creatures over there?”

Your brows furrowed and you followed his gaze to where you expected a swarm of bugs or animals. What you saw made you stifle a laugh, “Those are children. That’s a playground.”

“Oh. Gotcha.” The Shinigami hummed and continued looking around. His back snapped straight and already wide eyes bulged in their sockets as they found a stand that sold caramel apples under the shade of a tree nearby. “That! What’s that over there!?”

“Do you want one?” You asked, already pulling your wallet from your backpack with your free hand and shouldering the bag. You jogged over to the stand and greeted the employee with a smile, lowering your cellphone from your ear as to not appear rude. “Hiya! Can I get two caramel apples please?”

“Sure thing! Can you wait right here while I get them?” He hurried off to grab a couple of the treats once you agreed.

As soon as he left another employee all but crept from the shadows and leaned towards you. Although you were startled and admittedly a bit creeped out, you made a point not to show it.

“Hey there.” he leered over your (height) form and you gripped your phone tighter, fingers turning white. “What’s a pretty girl like you doing here?”

You lifted your phone slightly. “Talking with my boyfriend,” you lied right through your teeth.

“Oh, your boyfriend? I’m flattered,” Ryuk teased from behind you and it took all of your willpower not to shoot him a disapproving glare.

“He doesn’t have to know about our date tonight.”

“Our what?” You raised an eyebrow, ready to bolt right outta there if the other employee didn’t come back with your apples before things got ugly.

“Oh, my apologies,” the boy placed a hand over his heart dramatically, “I figured we could go out. Or...I could take you to my place.”

_The nerve on this guy_.

“No thanks. I should actually be going as soon as I get my apples.” You hurriedly searched through your wallet as you noticed the kinder employee approaching, two caramel apples in hand.

“Hey, is he bothering you?” The boy asked, handing you your apples in exchange for the amount of money advertised on the sign next to the stand. “I’m sorry about him, he has absolutely no self control.”

You let out a nervous laugh and nodded, a difficult feat with your phone tucked underneath your chin as your hands were occupied with the sugar-coated apples. “I’m alright, thank you. Have a nice day.”

Before turning away you glanced nervously at the employee who had asked you out ever so rudely, even after he was lead to believe you were already in a relationship.

_But you_ , you thought,  _you can choke_.

Safely seated at your bench, you sighed deeply and took a bite of your apple, savoring the sweetness of the caramel against your taste buds. The spare apple in your other hand was lifted out of your grasp, the Shinigami by your side devouring the treat whole. 

“Y’know,” Ryuk said through chewing, waving the stick the apple had been attached to around irritably, “I don’t like the way he talked to you.”

“Aw, you  _do_ care.”

He ignored your remark. “I mean, who does he think he is?” Ryuk swallowed the chewed up apple, pointing the stick towards the stand in order to direct your attention there. “And look at him now! At it again.”

Sure enough, a rather cute blonde girl with pigtails clung to a brunet boy, ordering some sweets as the employee from before shamelessly flirted with her. 

“What are you trying to say, Ryuk?” 

“Just that I think you found a worthy test subject for the Death Note.” 

You nearly dropped your phone from your ear. Could you really kill this person? He wasn’t the lowest of the low...but granted, that was hard to find in a neighborhood park. But still, you had no idea if this stupid notebook even worked anyway. And wouldn’t you be doing people everywhere a favor? Sure, right now this guy was sticking to verbal harassment, but who knows what that could escalate to in the future.

You pretended to hang up your phone, stuffing it back into your bag and pulling out the seemingly harmless notebook along with a pencil. 

“I don’t know his name,” you voiced your sudden realization to the creature. 

Ryuk groaned, “You have to make everything difficult, don’t you?”

“Hey! It’s not my fault.” It made you sick to your stomach to even consider the thought, but you sighed and traveled the distance to the caramel apple stand once again, tossing your now empty stick into a nearby trash can on the way.

“Hey there,” you greeted with a pitiful smile. It was absolutely humiliating to crawl back now, but if you were going to get revenge on this guy for good. It would be worth it in the end. “So, maybe I was being a bit harsh earlier. I was wrong, and I’m sorry.”

The employee who hit on you gave his colleague a slap on the shoulder. “What’d I tell you!? I knew she’d come back begging!” It took all your strength to keep the smile on your face. “So, what’s your name, babygirl? And more importantly, what’s your number?”

“Ah, it’s (First name) (Last name). You?”

“Akio Takahashi. So...your number?”

“Oh! That’s right,” You feigned forgetfulness, pulling your bag from your shoulder and pretending to dig through it. You sneakily retrieved a pencil and your notebook, scribbling down the name but also making sure that it was comprehensible. When that was finished and you were sure the boy hadn’t seen, as he was busy boasting to his dumbfounded colleague, you tore a scrap out of a regular notebook and wrote down yourphone number. “Here you go!” You handed the piece of paper to him and winked before retreating to your bench. In your safe zone you could let the shivers you had been holding in creep down your spine. “I think that was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do...”

“Guess you haven’t had a tough life, then.”

You sent a glare Ryuk’s way before falling into a comfortable silence. “You know, I guess this means we’re BFF’s now, with you helping me out and all.”

“BFF’s? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Best friends for...life? Well, are you really  alive?”

Ryuk remained quiet, only the faint sound of his teeth digging into the wood of his candy apple stick coming from his end. He grunted in thought, counting down until the douchebag at the apple stand would drop dead. “Best friends for life...not bad.”

Next followed the sound of a heavy weight falling to the ground, gagging and gasping for air, the commotion of bystanders rushing to help or to at least witness the tragedy. You looked on in amazement until the reality of the situation set in. 

_He didn’t deserve it. I should have known this was not a good idea._

You slowly rose from your seat, hand over your mouth and your backpack in a tense grip against your heaving chest, the notebook remaining inside.

_I killed him. This was my fault. It was me. I could do that...just with the stroke of a pencil. Me, of all people...hmm._

Your features, once twisted in horrific discomfort softened a smidge. Your lip twitched, uttering a barely audible realization, “I have  power .”

Ryuk sniggered, quiet enough to remain unnoticed by you as you stared ahead, your focus held by the crowd that had started gathering by the candy apple stand.

“This is going to be so much fun...”


	9. Light/Reader — Obsession

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains Stalking and a non consensual kiss, so if those kinds of subjects bother you, I suggest you do not read this chapter.
> 
> Light is also a bit OOC in this one, so my apologies.

Light Yagami’s obsession had begun freshman year of highschool.

As the days dug deeper into the year and projects and tests had begun to get more serious, the time for a group project had arisen. The teacher had positioned himself in front of the chalkboard and informed the class of the project and that it would be done in pairs. As per usual with this sort of thing, the more extroverted folk had already started chatting up their friends to delegate who would be paired with who. The more introverted members of the class merely gazed around the room in hopes of locking eyes with someone who wasn’t already taken.

Light’s chocolate eyes flickered towards a classmate in the very back of the room — you. He never talked to you before, but from what he had gathered you never seemed to cause trouble and rarely spoke up during lessons. He worried that you might be hard to work with if you were going to remain in your shell, but he approached you nonetheless.

He had greeted you politely and asked if you would be so kind as to work with him on this group project since, although he may have made quite the name for himself in terms of popularity, he was never anyone’s first choice. Feeling a pang of pity in your chest and deciding that no one else would ask for your partnership, you agreed to his offer.

The two of you had organized a meeting to work on the project outside of school later that evening. You were to catch Light on his way out of the school and accompany him to his home. The brunet apologized in advance for his nosey and hyperactive sister and you had waved him off with a laugh.

After spending merely five minutes with you, Light had deducted that your shy and quiet exterior was nothing but a cover up — a faux veil that one had to lift in order to see the real you. The way you joked around with him during that class period was enough to show him that, and he was delighted that he would get to see more of that in the future.

As promised, once the bell rang signaling the end of the school day you waited for Light by the front entrance, following his lead once he made it out with you. It wasn’t a terribly long walk from school to his home. At least it didn’t feel extensive when you had each other to occupy your minds. You laughed and talked the entire way as if the two of you were old friends rekindling a bond that had been there for ages. You were just that easy to talk to. Subjects of strict teachers and absurd gossip made the journey pass by in a blur.

Light had guided you into his house, his mother greeting you both the second you walked through the threshold. She offered you many refreshments and snacks to hold you over before you left for dinner and you accepted a glass of apple juice just to keep her at bay.

You couldn’t have the drink upstairs, so you and Light were just fine sitting at the dining room table, poster board spread out over the wood and markers littering the surface. You both mapped out the layout of how you would organize your data on the poster with pencils, failing to notice the front door open and close.

Light’s little sister Sayu bounded into the dining room upon seeing that her brother had someone over. She tossed her backpack to the ground and skidded to a stop, misjudging her speed and smacking her hip into the edge of the table. As Sayu yelped, hands already massaging the sure-to-be-bruised area, your glass of apple juice toppled over. You leapt from your seat as your stomach was splashed with a rush of cold liquid.

Light rushed to your side, a sudden need to comfort you filling his brain, and hurried you upstairs, scolding his younger sister the whole way.

Once in the safety of his room, he apologized profusely. You wrote it off as nothing, more worried about Sayu and her injured hip if you were being honest. Light fetched you one of his (mother/father)’s old shirts to replace your stained one. Though it was a bit loose on you, it was much better than wearing a damp shirt around until you got home.

So, with your old shirt discarded and completely forgotten, you two headed back downstairs to finish up the sections of your project you planned for that day until the setting sun told you it was time to go. You thanked Light and his mother for their hospitality and assured Sayu that you held no grudges for her accident earlier. Light had offered to walk you home but you insisted that it was only a few blocks way and you would be happy to have the time to yourself to think and whatnot.

It was only then, when you were already maybe a block away from Light’s residence, that the boy realized you had forgotten your soaked shirt. Not really understanding why he did so, Light ran the fabric through his fingers, taking in every fiber as it brushed his skin and sent strange shivers down his spine. Then he had the urge to put it to his nose, which he complied to, and breathe in your scent with a flutter of his eyelids. Though there was a tainting odor of apple juice, your (body wash/perfume) stuck out to him. Light’s chest had tightened with a feeling that he didn’t quite recognize. What would he call it? It wasn’t quite love. No, love wouldn’t be the word to describe something so intense, so overwhelming to the senses that all he could think about was  you, you, you.  This was infatuation. This was obsession. This was  _dangerous_.

It was worse that the poor boy had no idea that this feeling was abnormal. He had reasoned with himself that if it felt so good to feel this way about someone, it couldn’t be wrong. In his eyes it was the most innocent thing out there.

So he pursued it, he chased it and, along with it, you. Light Yagami followed you around like a lost puppy, playing off his frequent visits as just asking about that project or wanting to be friendly. He sat with you at lunch, which was strange because you could have sworn he had a different lunch period than you did. He walked you to every class even if his own was on the other side of the school entirely. He frequently invited you over to his house and treated you like royalty once you were there.

But, you saw nothing wrong with his behavior. In fact, you were quite flattered. Not a single person has ever gone out of their way to talk to you and make friends with you before. This sad fact could have been the reason your judgement was so clouded, the reason you let so many warning signs pass your line of vision. It could have even been the reason you ended up in the position that you did, and you blamed yourself for that every chance you got.

Years had passed since you had befriended the brunet boy and you spent those years growing closer to one another until you knew each other’s ins and outs. Many of the girls in the school had begun to grow jealous of your closeness to Light, especially as he climbed the hierarchy of popularity. Because of this, you would often find yourself in less than ideal situations where they picked on you. You hardly let it get to you, for you were aware the only reason for this treatment was because they wanted to have a chance with your best friend. Oddly enough, the one person this bothered most of all was Light.

He would defend you if any of the girls were unlucky enough to be caught taunting you in his presence. You could always count on him to be there for emotional support if he was too late to tell the girls off or if what they had said to you actually managed to strike a nerve.

And, while you were tucked safely in his embrace, you were blissfully unaware of all the possessive and downright twisted thoughts swirling around like a hurricane inside that head of his.

_ “Nobody, and I mean nobody, has the right to talk to— no, LOOK at my goddess with their disgusting eyes... _

_ How can I get them to leave her alone? Murder is definitely out of the question...I could get caught.“ _

And it didn’t help that you were unknowingly fueling the fire. Every touch from you sent an electric jolt through his skin, making him all the more motivated to protect you at all costs.

It was your last year of high school that brought along a terribly tragedy. One of your classmates had died when struck by a car. You brushed it off though, not having known the girl very well and what you did see of her was a pretty ruthless persona. She was by far the worst of the girls who had picked on you, going so far as to actually get physical in the hallways between classes. She never did anything questionable when Light was around of course, but he didn’t need proof when you told him how she’d hurt you.

That’s right, you had confided in the brunet genius about your bullying troubles days before the girl had died. a few days later, more and more seemed to pop up on the news about this mysterious “Kira”, who killed criminals using heart attacks. You hadn’t connected the two incidents, seeing as your classmate had been killed in an accident and Kira seemed to only be using heart attacks. And why would a killer focused on bringing criminals to justice murder a run of the mill high school bully?

At least, that’s what you thought before you began to look into the case. Then there was that bus jacking on the news. Some criminal kills three people, gets away, hijacks a bus, and then gets killed instantly? It just seemed so suspicious to you. That’s how the seed of an idea that Kira could kill in different ways other than a heart attack sprouted in your mind. 

You took your suspicions to your best friend. He heard you out as you paced his bedroom, not tearing his eyes away from your nervously twitching form. Once you had finished with a deep sigh, out of breath from your long winded way of saying “I think a Kira killed my bully”.

He had said what you expected. “Are...you  sure it was Kira? I don’t mean to be rude but that’s a pretty wild accusation. And why would someone who’s targeting such high-level criminals go after some high school student? It just doesn’t add up.”

His dismissal of your theory made you come to your senses. There was no way these two cases were connected. Light was right, it didn’t add up. So, why did you still feel something tugging at your gut whenever you thought about it?

The absurdity of your claim didn’t stop you from thinking about it day and night, in classes and at lunch. But you decided to cram these thoughts in the back of your mind, as you were accompanying Light to his house for dinner that night. You waited by the entrance of the school just like you had the first day the two of you met until your best friend approached you with a cheerful grin.

His house was the same as always, but you didn’t mind. You were actually quite fond of how, no matter what crazy events occurred outside the Yagami residence, nothing inside those walls seemed to change. It was peaceful, and the world needed a dash of peace with all the murders.

Light had told you that he had to speak with his mother for a few minutes, but you were welcome to wait in his room for him. You had nothing to do but wander around the spacious room, taking in the decor or lack there of. Eventually you found yourself standing in front of his desk, backpack perched on the swivel chair just asking to be opened. You knew it was wrong to snoop, but honestly what could Light be hiding that you didn’t already know? You were best friends after all.

With a quick glance at the door you unzipped Light’s backpack and fingered through the notebooks and folders to reveal nothing out of the ordinary. Just as you thought. You were about to give up but, as you went to close the bag, a scrap of notebook paper got caught in the zipper. You plucked it from the bag and unfolded it. A list of names stared back at you from the lined sheet of paper.

Your heart picked up speed with every name you read, matching the names to faces of criminals who were reported dead by the hands of Kira on television. You were so preoccupied with this list that you were unaware of your best friend lurking right outside the door, watching you through the crack.

He may have appeared calm to any audience, but his mind had been racing with excuses, ways to approach the situation that kept you from getting suspicious of him, ways to keep you by his side forever and always.

Coming up empty, Light took his chances with the old “It’s for when I become a detective in the future” excuse. You had claimed you understood and slipped the paper back into Light’s bag, apologizing for intruding and dropping the subject quickly. Still, Light wasn’t about to let it go that easily. If there was even the slightest chance you hadn’t believed his story, he had to take action before you went to the police or, even worse, started avoiding him.

So, when the sun rose from the horizon the next morning, Light dialed your number in his phone and awaited your most likely exhausted tone from the other end. Though it was practically sunrise, he just couldn’t wait any longer to get you where he wanted you. Once you did pick up, he barely gave you a chance to speak, rambling on about this wonderful little spot in the woods that he found while walking one day and asking if you wanted to join him. You had accepted, of course, getting ready for the day in a hurry before meeting your best friend at the location he had specified.

The walk through the woods was eerily silent. You had attempted to strike up a lasting conversation but Light responded to all of your questions and statements with simple, one word answers, retreating back into silence right after. You worried about him, naturally. As his best friend you knew when something was off and it didn’t take a genius to discover that Light wasn’t acting like his normal self that day. But, no matter how many times you poked and prodded, no straight answer was given in response to your concerns so you left it alone.

When you got to the clearing in the trees Light finally spoke on his own. “I have a question for you,” he had announced, searching your eyes for any reason to not go on and, upon finding none, he continued, “Does anyone know you’re here?”

You told him about how your parents had gone to work rather early, giving you no chance to tell them where you were going or what you would be doing. He nodded at that and breathed in a deep breath of fresh forest air.

“What do you think about this whole situation? Kira, I mean.”

You were always wary of expressing your opinion on situations so controversial but this was Light, your friend since the beginning of high school and the son of the detective in charge of the Kira investigation. There was no way he would judge you for thinking that Kira should be put to justice, so that’s exactly what you told him.

His reaction was subtle, nodding and sliding his hands into his pockets as if to protect them from the slight breeze that swept through the forest. He stepped closer to your huddled form, wrapped in a coat as the sun hadn’t quite warmed up the shaded clearing yet. He spoke again, but this time hushed. Like he didn’t want anyone to hear even if no one was around for at least half a mile.

“You wouldn’t leave me, would you?”

This question made you reel back in surprise. Leave him? What on earth did he mean by that? And why had such a question come up? You sputtered out jumbled sentences as a means of voicing your confusion, failing miserably and barely even getting a comprehensible idea out before you were muffled by a pair of lips.

If you hadn’t been confused before, you definitely were when you realized Light had kissed you. When his hand reached up to cup your cheek you pushed at the brunet’s chest, sending him stumbling backwards with a glare of irritation.

You told him you didn’t like him like that. You told him that you liked being his friend and that you could still go back to the way things were, he just had to promise never to try and kiss you like that again. You thought this offer was more than reasonable.

Light, however, saw this as a death sentence — no, worse. Not being able to kiss you or hold you or at the very least touch you like he wanted to was a fate he didn’t want to see himself suffer. Rage, disappointment, and panic set in all at once but, as always, he managed to keep a poker face. He thought about accepting your offer and keeping his feelings about you to himself. Keeping everything bottled up for any longer didn’t appeal to the boy, as he already felt like he would explode any second. No, he would let you know how he felt right here, right now and if you didn’t accept his feelings...well, he had a little something up his sleeve.

He’d grasped you by the shoulders, watching as your face contorted in disgust the further he got into his confession, not caring enough to stop himself. It just felt so good for him to let all these emotions, these thoughts and desires out of his brain and into words. Light delved into explicit detail of fantasies he’d had of the two of you and you just took it all in. It’s not like he even gave you a chance to cut in.

When Light was finished he breathed like he had just run a marathon. His grip on your shoulders had turned vice-like and his stare was even more capturing. It was like he was waiting for you to say something, but the more you tried to form words the harder it got. Finally, you settled for something simple yet convincing — you hugged him.

Your arms were wrapped tightly around his waist, face buried deep into his warm jacket. It was as if all movement around you had ceased in that moment. Light’s mind was racing with all the implications this hug could mean. Did you love him back? Or were you about to let him down easy? Either way it didn’t matter. Light just took his chance and embraced you while he could.

You could have been standing like that for hours or minutes, but when you finally pulled away you noticed tears had been leaking down your face.

“I can’t...” you didn’t even need to go on. All hope in Light’s mind that you would accept his feelings was shattered immediately after the utterance of these two words. “I can’t love you like you love me. Light...it’s not possible. I think...I think you need help.”

He needs help!?  _Help_!?  The rage that built inside of the seemingly perfect boy was enough to reach the gray sky above you. He had spilled his deepest desires to you and that’s what you say? _He needs help?_

Light stepped closer to you, and it broke him even more to see you back away from him.

_ What have I done...? I’ve lost her forever...unless... _

“That’s okay. You don’t feel the same, it’s perfectly alright.” He dismissed, keeping in mind to look disappointed while also understanding.

This mask had been enough to fool you. You made the mistake of turning your back to him and that fatal slip up was how Light was able to capture your body in his arms. You kicked, screamed, and fought but even if you got away, no one was there to help you. He had planned this from the beginning, you realized. Bringing you to a forested area where every turn looked the same and there was no one to hear your screams was part of his scheme from the start.

He wasn’t going to let you go unless you tapped into his most valued asset — his brain. Sympathy was the only thing you had going for you. If he cared about you, you had figured he wouldn’t dare hurt you willingly. So, you appealed to his humanity, or at least the little he had left.

“Please, Light! Y-you love me don’t you? You wouldn’t hurt me, r-right!?”

The brunet tensed for maybe more than a second before throwing his head back with maniacal laughter.

“You think I’m gonna hurt you? No, my sweet (Name), I would never.”

You regretted asking the moment you parted your lips, but your curiosity got the better of you. Light’s ragged breaths in your ear had been throwing you off, making you wonder more than you should have been. “Then...what are you gonna do to me?”

You could practically hear the smile in Lights voice as he spoke, gleeful that you had asked him, showing (at least to him) that you were anticipating his next move with bated breath. “I’ll keep you to myself, forever. Just like a little pet. But instead of my pet, you’ll be my goddess. You’ll reign over the new world I’ll create right by my side. You will, won’t you?”

Any words that you would have spoken were torn from your throat as Light’s pale fingers crawled over your skin just above your windpipe, pressing down gently but effectively. Gargling sounds emitted from your mouth and you clawed at the boy’s hands desperately. All he did was “tsk” as your behavior.

Only when your face glowed a frightening shade of red did Light release your throat from his grasp, repeating his question from before and counting on an affirmative answer this time which you delivered with heavy pants and a weak voice.

All Light could do was bask in the glory of finally having you all to himself. You had even admitted it too! In his eyes the day couldn’t get any better, even if L dropped dead on the spot. To him, you were the queen to his king, goddess to his god of the new world and nothing would change that.

“My sweet, sweet (Name)...what a delight it is to have my beautiful goddess all to myself at last.” The unhinged boy whispered, breath tickling the shell of your ear as he nuzzled into your neck. “I promise I’ll never let you go, even in you ask me to. I vow to keep you safe no matter what I have to do.

“You will never leave my side, my goddess.”


	10. Mello/Reader — Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Oneshot will be a Medieval AU in which, instead of Mello dying, he is imprisoned in a tower Rapunzel style! I had so much fun writing this one so I hope you enjoy it too!

The one thing that Mihael was sure never to do again was piss off the girlfriend of a powerful sorcerer.

Every day he spent in that god damned tower he cursed the name Kiyomi Takada. If he could he would curse the name of the sorcerer along with her, but no one knew his name. The magic user was always referred to as “Kira” and nothing else. Some believed that he was the savior of the kingdom, bringing justice to those who disobeyed the King’s orders and laws through a strange and unfathomable power to kill by merely knowing a person’s name and face.

But that was far from justice, that was just plain murder, and Mihael knew that. It was when he tried to get to Kira through his pawn — or girlfriend, it depended on who you asked, really — that the sorcerer locked him up in the prison he now called his home.

And now that Mihael was trapped with no visible escape he had time to ponder, to contemplate his life and determine whether he was really fighting for the right cause, right? Wrong, he was going to get out of that shit hole as soon as possible even if it killed him.

With the scarce materials the blond had at his disposal, he concocted a plan.

As it turned out the sorcerer Kira as more of an interior designer than people thought. Maybe he should have gone into the home decorating business instead of murdering hundreds of people but, hey, we all have our calling. The tower wasn’t drab in any sense of the word. It was quite lovely, actually. Curtains of fine silks flowed with the wind whistling through the window. The bed was covered in a soft quilt, equally comfortable sheets hidden underneath. The craftsmanship of the rugs was surprisingly well done and there was one in every room, adding a simple homey-ness. And was Mihael about to tear all of these lovely items up to make a rope? Hell yeah, he was.

There was just one other problem he had to consider — the dragon guarding the tower. Early on when the teenager first arrived to the tower he had seen the seemingly lazy nature of the dragon and predicted it would be quite easy to defeat. But when he went in, guns blazing (or more accurately a single broomstick being swung around menacingly), Mihael discovered that the dragon was more of an intellectual type, and a good one at that.

With a single stream of bursting flame, Mihael had been sent stumbling back, his broom now a useless pile of ash. Worst of all, the flames had melted off a patch of his skin — the entire left side of his face and arm. Not to mention some of his beautiful blond hair had been singed. That dragon was gonna fucking get it.

The next day, after Mihael had patched up his wounds, he marched right up to that damned dragon. Seeing as he wasn’t trying to attack it anymore, the dragon let him approach.

The snowy white-scaled monster had told Mihael that his name was Near, hired to keep the blond inside the tower...that is, until he succeeded in outwitting him. Then and only then could Mihael leave with his head still attached to his body.

Outsmart some dragon, huh? Shouldn’t be a problem.

Yeah, turns out, it was a bit of a problem. 

No matter what he did, he just couldn’t get past the damn reptile! But he would find a way, he had to.

Mihael tied the last of the bedsheets to the end of the makeshift rope with a determined grunt.

“Alright, Matt,” the blond faced the window, a little brown bird cocking its head as it perched on the windowsill. He had dubbed the little creature “Matt” after his friend back home. “I need you to create a diversion, understand?”

The bird chirped happily, flapping its little wings. For some odd reason this bird had been able to understand Mihael. He had no idea how or why, but if he were being honest he didn’t care. It was just nice to have someone or something to talk to and know that it could understand you. The dragon was useless, it seemed to have absolutely no pity for Mihael. All it did all day was sit in the corner, twirling its tail around its claw.  _Lame excuse for a dragon..._

“Good. Now, I’m gonna throw the rope down and when I say so, you fucking peck it’s eyes out.” Mihael instructed his feathered friend, crossing the room to tie the other end of the rope to the bed.

He winced when the fabric came into contact with the still tender flesh of his burn.  _It might hurt like hell, but I’m still going to get out of here._

The teenager gathered the rest of the rope into his arms, standing by the window, ready to toss it out and climb down. The dragon was minding its own business in the corner, letting Mihael do his thing. That’s how it always went. The dragon would let him think he had a chance, waiting until the very last second to bring him back to reality, usually with a burst of flame or a swipe from its mighty claws.

But not this time. This time he had Matt, the small bird that could be crushed in an instant. Yep, this was a game changer.

Mihael tossed the rope out of the window, waiting until it was steady enough for him to safely climb down to give Matt the ‘go ahead’. He nodded his head and the bird flew at surprising speeds into the dragon’s face, nipping and plucking at its eyes. A deafening roar shook the tower but Mihael refrained from plugging up his ears. Instead he grabbed the rope and climbed onto the windowsill. He dropped down so that the only thing supporting him was the rope. The ground seemed so threatening as he hung fifty feet above it, but this was no time for his fears to get in the way. Mihael loosened his grip slightly so that he slid further down, closer to the ground until he stopped himself. The last thing he wanted was to build up too much speed and not be able to control himself from crashing into the cold hard ground.

He was almost there! The ground was so, so close now! Both the excitement and dread built up in the blond’s chest, feeling like an extra weight he certainly didn’t need at that moment. Suddenly, the dread took over.

Matt’s chirping and the dragon’s roar had ceased all at once.

_ No, Matt couldn’t be...serves me right for developing an emotional attachment to a bird. _

Before he could dwell too long on that, another sound caught his attention. Horse hooves against the ground. Wait, no one ever traveled this far into the woods. How could—

“FUCK—“ He had dawdled too much. The dragon had caught up. Before he knew it he was hurtling towards the ground, helplessly gripping the burnt off remains of the rope. He wasn’t going to escape, he was going to die like a dog with no one to mourn—

_Crash_.

The startled whinny of a horse told Mihael that he wasn’t dead.

Whatever he had landed on did  not feel like the ground at all. A soft groan from underneath him caused the blond to bolt upright, ignoring the searing pain in his burnt skin and the ache in his bones.

“Who the hell are you!?” Mihael demanded of the stranger who had broken his fall.

The person merely continued moaning in pain, coughing out fragments of a sentence that eventually turned into an entire phrase, “I am (Full Name) of (Kingdom Name) and I am here to rescue you.”

The teenager let out a dry laugh and chucked the charred rope remains at the still writhing person on the ground. “Well, you coulda come sooner!”

The stranger, or not-so-stranger anymore since they had given him their full name, staggered up from the forest floor. Their armor clanked obnoxiously and their heavy panting was audible through the cage of their silver helmet, which was removed soon after they regained their footing.

It was then Mihael realized how attractive this person was, no matter how pathetic he thought they were. They looked to be around his age with (hair color) hair and a (tall/short/average) stature. He pushed these thoughts down and crossed his arms, watching their flustered and disheveled state with faint amusement.

They messed with their slightly knotted, (hair length) hair until it was as neat as it could be. “Ah, right, sorry. But at least you didn’t die, right? Doesn’t that count as ‘rescuing’ at least a little bit?”

“No.” Mihael pushed past (Name) and stomped right into the forest.

“Wait, where are you going!?”

The teenager didn’t look back, but heard the clanking of (Name)’s armor as they caught up to him.

“Home.” He answered simply, keeping a hard expression until (Name)’s horse nuzzled it’s wet nose against Mihael’s elbow. “Eugh! Control your animal.”

Ignoring Mihael’s jab at their horse, (Name) came up beside him and asked kindly, “What’s your name?”

Was this person insane or just stupid!?

Mihael thought for a moment, coming to the conclusion that, even if they said they were here to rescue him, he couldn’t fully trust them yet. So he gave them his alias, “Mello.”

(Name) laughed heartily, clutching their helmet to their stomach. Noticing the glare being sent their way, they defended, “I-I’m sorry, it’s just...you don’t seem very mellow to me. More like a firecracker.”

Mello merely grunted and continued further into the forest, (Name) right by his side.

“So, do you _know_ where you’re going?”

Oh. So  _ that’s _ what he forgot. With all that time thinking about how to get out of the tower, Mihael never really considered that he would have to find his way back home on his own. Even so, he wasn’t about to admit to this hot stranger — wait a minute...

“You don’t, do you? That’s okay! I happen to know just about every inch of this forest. Where are you headed?”

They did not know when to stop did they!? But it wasn’t the offer for help that bugged Mihael. No, it was the fact that every question they asked seemed to make him feel even more like an idiot. Where was he headed? Like hell if he knew! He was trapped in a tower in the middle of a random forest for god knows how long.

Mihael let out a pouty little huff and stopped, causing (Name) to practically crash right into his leather clad back. (What? Just because he was held captive didn’t mean he was gonna give up his style.)

“Listen. I don’t know where the hell I am or where the hell I’m trying to go. I just fell like fifty feet and I’m pretty sure I have a concussion. Please, for the love of god, just leave me alone.”

(Name)’s face fell at Mello’s harsh words. They backed up a bit and stroked the muzzle of their patiently waiting horse. Once they seemed to get over the shock of being yelled at, they smiled softly. “So you can be eaten by wolves once the sun goes down? Is that what you really want? I can at least take you to the nearest town.”

Mello sighed through his nose and glanced around at the trees and bushes, half expecting a bloodthirsty animal to pop out right then and there.

Hmm...accompanying (Name)  _ did _ sound a lot better than being torn apart and eaten...

“Fine.” The blond swiped his golden bangs from his eyes and nudged (Name) out of his way, placing his foot in the stirrup of the horse’s saddle and hoisting his slim body up. He swung his leg over and plopped down onto the horse’s back, gesturing impatiently for (Name) to follow his lead.

(Name) struggled to contain their smile as they settled themself in front of Mello. The horse began to trot off at the gentle tap of (Name)’s heels to it’s sides.

It was definitely a good thing that Mihael begrudgingly agreed when he did. What must have been thirty minutes after they set off through the trees, the sky began to dim and a few storm clouds even began to roll in. Mihael grunted when the first clap of thunder reached their ears. A raindrop splashed onto his shoulder.

“Great.”

“Eh, I was due for a shower anyway,” (Name) joked, tilting their head back to look up at the sky and nearly bopping Mello in the nose.

The rain picked up quicker than either of them anticipated. Droplets fell hard and fast like bullets against the umbrella of trees above their heads. Unfortunately just enough was able to get through the leaves to make it sufficiently uncomfortable for both parties. Even the horse tossed its head around irritably.

Mihael’s body shook from the growing cold, becoming so unbearable that he weaved his arms under (Name)’s to hold their waist. They radiated a surprising amount of heat.

(Name)’s shoulders bounced with laughter at the action. “Don’t worry, Princess, we’re almost there.”

If there was more energy left in his body, Mihael would’ve smacked them. But with the cold, the headache, and the gentle rock of movement from their mode of transportation, he was just about ready to pass out. So, with a quiet little grumble of something incoherent (but most likely a threat), Mihael rested his forehead on (Name)’s shoulder and allowed consciousness to fade away.

Turns out (Name) did get to rescue Mihael after all.


	11. Mello, Matt, & Near — The Floor is Lava

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is not an /Reader, as I thought it would be rather cute with just the boys themselves in their younger ages. I had loads of fun writing this one and I think it came out pretty adorable, though rather short. As always, enjoy!!!

“BOYS, GET OVER HERE,” Roger called. He didn’t even need to specify who he was calling for. Most of the orphanage knew the drill already.

The man waited by the dinner table next to a three year old Near, who was eating cereal one flake at a time atop a high chair. Footsteps could be heard, running and scrambling to get to the source of their summons.

Soon enough, two boys came around the corner, both running and giggling to each other as they knew full well why they were there.

“Does anyone want to tell me why there was glue in my shoes this morning?” Roger asked calmly, though struggling to keep the anger out of his tone. The parenting book he had picked up said that a calm air about you would ease your child into telling the truth. Though Mello and Matt weren’t his children, he was hoping it would still work on them.

The older blond crossed his tiny arms. “No, sir.” He tried to leave after that but was pulled back by the collar of his black shirt. “Hey! Get off, old man!” Mello kicked and punched the air until Roger let go.

“Fine, you little devil...” Roger directed his attention to the silent brunet. “Matt? Do you have anything to say?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhh....THE FLOOR IS LAVA!”

Both boys shrieked and jumped onto the nearest piece of furniture. Mello pointed at Roger who hadn’t moved other than to flinch at Matt’s sudden screaming.

“Haha! You’re dead in the lava!” The blond taunted, jumping up and down on the bouncy couch cushions.

From the dinner table, Near pointed at Roger as well, babbling incoherently as pieces of cereal fell from his mouth.

“That’s right, Near. Roger’s in the lava! But you’re safe, don’t worry!”

“Alright, enough of this! All I want to know is-“ Roger was interrupted by a pillow flying and smacking him dead in the face.

Matt retracted his throwing arm and fell into the lava from laughing so hard, clutching his stomach.

“MATT! NO!” Mello shouted.

Roger walked through the lava to pick up a still cackling Matt by the underarms. The small brunet began kicking his small legs, but got nowhere.

“You boys keep this up and you’ll spend the rest of the day in your rooms!”

“There’s lava in there too!” Matt calmed down enough to remind Roger if this  _ oh so obvious _ fact as he was carried to his room for a time-out.

“Wait, Matt! I’ll save you!” Mello announced, throwing two pillows on the ground and using them as ice skates. He slid across the floor toward’s Matt’s room before the door was slammed and Roger stood directly in front of the blond.

“You — to your room. Now.” Roger ordered.

Mello huffed, but skated through the lava in the direction of his own bedroom.

“And put those pillows back!”


	12. Matt, Mello, + Near — We Will Find You (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Less to do with Romantic love since in this story you are the boys’ caretaker. I honestly had so much fun writing the little flashback snippets, so I hope you get as much joy out of reading it as much as I did writing it. Thank you for reading, and enjoy the story! There will be a part two and possibly a part three, I haven’t decided yet.

Three boys — contrasted by their clothes, their statures, and most importantly their personalities — surrounded a table, idly tapping their fingers to the wood or pulling on their hair to distract themselves from the uncomfortable silence that filled the room. It wasn’t until the clock in the common area chimed midnight that the white haired boy curled up in his chair figured it was time to get over their childish differences.

“Mello. Matt. It’s good to see you again.” The albino boy addressed the other two at the table with politeness that was not returned.

The blond merely scoffed. The brunet nodded and continued to pick at the wood of the table top. Another bout of silence followed the weak spark of activity which the white haired boy broke once again.

“We should get to the issue at hand—“

“The  issue ?” The fiery blond erupted, “(Name) is more than just a problem that you have to fix, Near! They took care of us. They practically raised us when Roger couldn’t.”

“You’re right, Mello. I’m sorry.”

“Damn right you are.” Mello settled back into his chair after receiving that apology. 

Matt took it upon himself to break the tension, always being the mediator when no one else was around to calm his friends down. “Remember how they used to bring us paints and brushes when we were particularly bratty? Told us that painting always calmed them down and we should try it, too.”

Mello’s shoulders shook with a gentle, restrained laugh. “And how they made us cookies on our good days. Always with extra chocolate chips.”

Matt jammed his elbow into Mello’s ribs, a taunting smirk pulling at his lips. “And you had that crush on them, right Mels?”

“Shut up, I did not!”

“Relax. I’m pretty sure we all did at one point or another.”

“They were a lovely, attractive person in a house full of hormonal teenagers. It isn’t exactly unlikely.” Near interjected matter-of-factly.

Mello hummed dismissively and crossed his arms over his leather clad chest. “Yeah, well they definitely had an effect on you. Remember when they actually got you to  sleep?”

* * *

_ The moon was somewhere close to the center of the black sky by the time (name) realized everyone was in their beds except for one little boy known as Near. They searched the orphanage, hoping that he hadn’t run off and calming slightly when they remembered that wasn’t something Near would do. (Name) found themself in the common area, eyes falling on a hunched figure next to the couch. No doubt this was Near, as the white pajamas and clicking of puzzle pieces being moved were certainly in character for the albino boy. _

_ “Near? Don’t you want to try and sleep?” They asked, approaching him with soft steps as to not startle him. _

_ “No, I’m alright.” Near said, a tiny finger twirling around a strand of his snow colored hair _

_(Name) knelt down next to the boy and watched as he attempted to shield a yawn from their vision. It was too late, they had already seen his display of weakness and chuckled. “Hm. Are you sure ?”_

_ Near nodded and moved another chess piece, refraining from rubbing his dry, tired eyes. _

_ “Would it help if I stayed with you for a bit before you fall asleep?” _

_ The child stared at his chess board, blinking in thought. It  _ would _ be nice to have some company. He shook his head “yes” and stood from his spot on the floor, holding his arms up and clenching and unclenching his fists as a sign that (Name) should pick him up. They did so easily, marveling at how light Near actually was, and carried him all the way to his bed. They tucked in the sleepy child and laid down next to him, not complaining when he started to play with their (hair length), (hair color) hair. _

_ “Goodnight, (Ms./Mr./Mx.) (Name)” Near whispered, nuzzling his face into the pillow he rarely used and sighing contently. _

_ They smiled lightly at how he called them “(Ms./Mr./Mx.)”, not to mention how adorable the boy looked snuggled up like that. _

_ “Sweet dreams, Near.” _

* * *

“Forget that! Remember when they put Mello in time out?” Matt looked excited to bring up this memory.

“It wasn’t a time out.” The blond defended, rolling his eyes.

“They told you to go to your room though, right?”

“Only for a minute!”

* * *

_ The boy’s knuckles were numb and sweat poured down his face. The sound of the other kids screaming encouragement in his ear only egged him on further. At that point he didn’t care who saw him or tried to stop him, that is until (Name) ran out and pried Mello off of the beaten boy. _

_ “Mello what on earth were you thinking!?” _

_ “It wasn’t me! He started it!” _

_ “I don’t care who started it! Go to your room, I’ll be there in a minute.” (Name) helped the bruised boy off the ground, picking him up and carrying him inside. The boy shot Mello a gloating grin from over (Name)’s shoulder, blood spilling from his mouth and nose. _

_ As (Name) had instructed, Mello waited for them on his bed, head down and hands folded in his lap. He really didn’t want to disappoint them. In fact, what he had done was to accomplish the opposite effect. After patching up the injured kid (Name) entered Mello’s room and sat beside him, both parties not knowing what to say so they both remained silent for what felt like an eternity. _

_ Eventually (Name) gathered up the right words, however jumbled they may have been. “Mello...you can’t...you have to control yourself a little.” _

_ Mello’s head shot up, ready to defend himself. “But he was making fun of you! He said horrible things about you and I just wanted to—(Name)?” He paused when he noticed them hanging their head. _

_ “Oh, Mello...I appreciate your concern but...beating a kid to a pulp? You know better than that, I know you do.” _

_ The blond pulled his knees to his chest and huffed. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. _

_ (Name) wrapped their arms around Mello and pulled him close, rubbing his back comfortingly. “I know, it’s alright. Just don’t do it again, you hear me? Or I’ll tell Matt you stole his Xbox.” _

_ “No!” Mello protested, his terrified expression melting into a smile when (Name) started laughing. _

* * *

“Wait,  _you_ stole my Xbox!? This whole time I thought I lost it!” Matt pointed an accusing finger at the snickering blond.

“Maybe don’t leave it out for anyone to take, then.”

“I swear—“

“Guys. Would (name) really want you to be fighting over something so trivial at a time like this?”

Matt slumped in his seat at Near’s question.

“They’ve broken up so many of our fights before. I still feel bad for putting them through that.”

“Some good things did come out of that, though.”

* * *

“ _AMBUSH!” Mello shouted, scooping a clump of mud from the soaked ground and chucking it at an unsuspecting Matt._

_ The brunet jolted and whirled around, feeling around for where the mud had hit. Of course, it had to have splattered all over the back of his head. “Mellooooo are you serious?” He groaned as the blond only cackled at his discomfort. _

_ Deciding to give his friend a little payback, Matt dug into the mud and retrieved a fair amount of the goopy substance, throwing it where Mello once was. Matt looked around, startled that his friend was suddenly gone and even more so when a second glob of mud hit him right on the forehead. Even more laughter followed Mello’s bullseye. _

_ “Ugh...I’m going inside.” Matt pouted, on the verge of tears. Normally he would have been up for a little fight in the mud but ever since his Xbox went missing Matt was hardly in the mood for anything. _

_ As soon as the door opened to reveal a mud-splattered Matt (Name) was asking questions left and right. Was he alright? What happened? It was Mello wasn’t it? _

_ Matt only nodded his head at the last question and (Name) scooped him up, immediately heading to the bathroom to get him cleaned up. _

_ They ran a bubble bath for the mud-soaked boy, taking the shower head and spraying the grime out of his hair with soap and skill. They had to drain the cloudy water and fill the tub back up with fresh water every so often. Matt distracted himself with the bubbles until the bathroom door swung open and an equally dirty Mello burst in. _

_ “Matt, I’m sorry! You should have told me to stop if it bothered you!” _

_ “Oh my god, did you walk through the house like that!? Jesus, Mello, get in the tub!” _

_ “But I’m not even that dirty—“ _

_ “If you don’t get in the tub then you’ll have to clean the mess you undoubtedly made while getting here.” _

_ The blond’s eyes widened and he immediately dove into the soapy water, clothes and all. _

* * *

“Oh, yeah. I remember that.

“You’re missing one.” Near pointed out.

“Missing one what? A fight? Yeah, there were plenty. It’s not like I remember every single one.” Mello sassed.

“But there was a particular fight that made (Name) cry. I’d say you should remember that one.”

“I don’t think it was the fight that made them cry.”

* * *

_ Roger had called (Name) at around one in the morning the other night, informingthem that they would need to stay the night as he wouldn’t be back until noon the next day.They loved spending time with the three most accomplished kids at Wammy’s, so it was no surprise when they happily complied. _

_ (Name) was sound asleep, cozied up in one of the spare bedrooms until a familiar beeping caused their eyes to flutter open. The sound wasn’t familiar because it was their alarm from back home. No, that was impossible. The sound was familiar because it was the smoke detectors. _

_ Upon realizing this, (Name) threw the covers off of themself and bolted out of the bedroom to find the source of the smoke. They traced the smoke into the kitchen where, lo and behold, three small boys scrambled to find solutions to the numerous problems they were having. _

_ For one, Near was crouched on the floor, a roll of paper towels in his hands. He tore a few off at a time and placed them atop a puddle of what appeared to be orange juice. _

_ Unfortunately, Near seemed to be the only one actually fixing his problem. The other two boys battled over a spatula while a severely overcooked egg sizzled in the pan next to them. _

_ “Matt, gimme the spatula!” _

_ “No! It’s not time to flip yet!” _

_ “It’s been time to flip for the past twenty minutes!” _

_ “No! The smoke is just a decoy!” _

_ Having heard enough, (Name) cleared their throat and everyone’s heads shot in their direction. _

_ “There you are!” Matt exclaimed, taking the spatula and flipping the egg over in the pan to reveal its charred side. “It’s done!” _

_“ That’s what you were waiting for!?”_

_ “I wanted to show them my amazing flipping skills!” _

_ “I’m about to flip you—“ _

_“BOYS! What are you_ doing!? _You know not to use the stove when I’m not around!” (Name) hurried to the stove and switched it off, moving the burnt egg and it’s pan away from the heat and dispersing the smoke with waves of their hand._

_ “We just wanted to do something for you since, y’know,” Matt fiddled with his fingers, finding the floor particularly interesting as he explained, “you always do nice things for us.” _

_ (Name)’s eyes widened as they watched Mello nod furiously in agreement. _

_ “Yeah! We thought we’d make you breakfast. And, well...you know the rest.” He gestured to the still sizzling egg on the stove. _

_ The caretaker stood in utter shock, feeling tears well up in their eyes. At the sight of (Name)’s face streaming with tears the boys panicked, believing to have upset the(blond, brunet, redhead, etc.). _

_ “Oh, uh...(Name)? Are you okay?” _

_ “We didn’t mean to make you cry...” Matt stepped tentatively towards their sniffling caretaker, lifting then pulling back his hands as if unsure whether to comfort them or not. Luckily, he didn’t have to make the decision as (Name) kneeled down and pulled both boys towards them, holding them tight and dripping tears onto their shoulders. “Um...” _

_ “I-I’m sorry you have to see me like th-this, I just...you boys have no idea what this means to me.” They explained through sobs and gasps. Once they collected themself enough they lifted their head and waved Near over, hugging him as well despite his sleeves and knees being stained with orange juice. “You too, Near. I’d never forget you.” _

_ The albino boy smiled at them through his snow white hair which he tugged at gently, an old habit that died hard. “I wanted to make you a card, but Mello said that was lame.” _

_ “I didn’t say that!” Mello said, shoving Near so that he stumbled back a few steps without a change in expression. _

_ “Mello, be gentle please.” _

_ “Sooorrryyyyy...” _

* * *

A collective laugh was shared throughout the table until it faded to impatient ticks of the clock in the other room. The cheerful atmosphere was admittedly nice to the three boys while it lasted, as if there was nothing in the world but them and their memories of better times.

“I...don’t believe we will be able to avoid the reason we were called here for much longer.” Near’s usually steady voice worked it’s way down to a near whisper with this admission. “Finding (Name) alive is our top priority. Our personal relationship with them will not get in the way of this investigation. Understood?”

The blond’s face contorted in disgust due to the idea of discovering their beloved caretaker dead in a gutter somewhere. Nevertheless, he glanced to Matt before nodding solemnly in agreement, the brunet doing the same.

“Good. Then we find them and bring them home safe.”

“I don’t know if I could live with myself if they got hurt somehow.” Matt shook his head, deep in thought. “If they die because their captors know we’re looking for them...”

You could hear a pin drop — no, all the heartbeats of the three boys once the notion that they might cause (Name)’s untimely death was brought into the light. Chairs were pushed in with harsh and hurried scraping against wooden floorboards as files, computers, and equipment were being collected. The common area was set up like an office, or a much less organized one — files on (Name)’s background and upbringing littered the floor and couches. The only source of light was the dim glow of the computer screens as the boys worked tirelessly through the night, and eventually through the day. It’s not like they could rest. How could they when they knew that the only person who ever seemed to show compassion or love for them was missing? No, this was no time for rest. It was time for justice.

“If we have to die, we will find you, (Name). Justice will prevail.”


	13. Matt, Mello + Near — We Will Find You (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, another part down! 
> 
> I feel terrible for waiting so long to post this but with school starting up again it yet got pushed to the very back of my mind. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the second part, third part coming soon-ish!

There’s only so much you can do with a pile of documents and files. Searching for someone who went missing can’t usually be done without the  searching  part, so the three boys thought it would be best to take a look around the victim’s home.

God, they hated calling them a “victim”. It did nothing but dehumanize the very person who took the most care of them as kids. Someone as nurturing and caring as (Name) didn’t come easy at Wammy’s. It was always training and preparing for their futures, never being able to enjoy their childhood while they still had it.

But (Name) reminded the boys that they were loved. They did everything in their immediate power to make sure they had fun while they could. And now, suddenly, they were gone.

Knocking was futile and they knew it. No one had seen (Name) for over a month, it wasn’t likely that they would just be safely tucked away in their home. Not to mention there was a stack of mail dating back around the time they supposedly went missing and up to the present day piled up next to the door of their apartment.

On a count of three, a leather clad blond kicked down the door having found that it was locked from the inside.

Mello did the calculations in his head, noting that either (Name) left of their own accord, left for the day and was snatched somewhere else, or someone broke in to kidnap them.

The first option was likely, but it pained him to think they were so unhappy with their life that picking up and leaving was the best option. (Name) being kidnapped while out and about would point to them being a victim of opportunity. But if someone broke in through the window, it was highly likely that they were targeted. Who would go out of their way to hurt someone as precious as (Name)? The thought made Mello’s blood boil.

The trio crept into the dark apartment. Mello and Matt both had their guns drawn in case someone was still lurking about. Near followed close behind, waiting for his partners to call out that the place was clear. Once the signal came, the three split up to look for clues, Scooby-Doo style.

Matt took the kitchen. The first thing that caught his eye was a pile of soil peeking out from around the island. Matt circled around it and bent down to inspect the mess, drawing his hands back at the sight of broken glass — a painted flower pot, rather. Most likely painted by (Name) themself, as it appeared homemade.

Matt peered up at the countertop the plant must have fallen from, finding an array of flowers and painted pots lining the counter. Some were knocked over as well, and most of them had gone too long without water. They drooped and, as Matt touched them, crumbled under any weight.

* * *

_ “Alright boys, put your things in the guest bedroom and then come back out for some lunch, okay?” (Name) instructed the boys as they bounded through the door, overnight bags slung over their shoulders. _

_ (Name) couldn’t blame them for being hyperactive. After all, it must have been their first time away from the orphanage since they got there. A strange and sad thought. But after a rather aggressive storm, Wammy’s Orphanage was under repair and (Name) had generously offered to house a few kids in their own apartment.  _

_ “Okay!”  _

_ (Name) pointed the boys in the direction of the guest bedroom and headed back to the kitchen to prepare food. They opened the fridge and weighed their options, a finger tapping their chin in thought.  _

_ Suddenly a crash ripped them from their thoughts. They whirled around only to find one of their plants in a pile of dirt and broken ceramic on the floor, Matt standing over it with his arms outstretched as if he had been holding it. _

_ “Uh...oops...” _

_ “Oh, Matt! Stand back! I don’t want you to cut yourself!” (Name) bustled over to the mess as Matt backed away. They began picking shards of painted ceramic out of the soil to make it safe first.  _

_ “I’m really sorry, it was an accident! Um, I can buy you a new one.” _

_ “Aw, you’re sweet, Matty. But don’t worry about it, okay? It’s completely salvageable,” they explained, placing a handful of ceramic pieces onto the island.  _

_ Matt took two pieces and fit them together. It was painted like part of a sunset scene. “It’s really pretty.” _

_ (Name) laughed and retrieved a dust pan from a cabinet, sweeping up the soil and placing the plant safely onto the counter afterwards. “Thanks. I’ve named it. All of them, actually.” _

_ “What are their names?” _

_ “Oh, let me see...” (Name) dumped the dirt into the trash bin and set the dust pan down. Their finger returned to their chin and tapped absentmindedly until it pointed to the plant now without a pot. “That one is Olivia. The color of her leaves made me think of olives, hence Olivia.” _

_ Matt listened with great interest as (Name) rattled off names — Frank, Henry, Susan, etc. Each one, no matter how random it seemed, had some meaning behind it. _

_ By the time they were finished, Mello and Near had wandered back into the kitchen. Upon seeing the broken ceramic on the island, Mello took the chance to comment, “Not even here ten minutes and you’re already breaking shit?” _

_ (Name) shot him a glare. _

_ “Stuff. Sorry. I meant stuff.” _

* * *

There was no way (Name) would just leave one of their plants on the ground if they had the opportunity to clean it up. They cared about the leafy suckers too much to do that. Besides, any sane person wouldn’t want sharp ceramic lying around on their kitchen floor. 

In that case, there must have been a struggle here. One that knocked over the flowers and then lead to (Name)’s kidnapping. That would mean, since the door was locked, there had to be some evidence of forced entry somewhere else in the apartment.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mello took the hallways. The wood flooring was dark and so were his boots, making it a real chore to see where he was going. The blond grumbled a curse before spotting a light switch at the end of the hallway and heading towards it.

Just as he reached out to flick it on, a wet squish emanated from under his boot. 

Mello jumped, practically slamming his hand down in the light switch. The lights flickered on and he nearly wretched. 

Under his boot and splattered across the dark hallway floor was blood, pools of it leading into a room on the other end of the hallway. The feeling of uneasiness didn’t come from the blood itself. He had seen blood before. It was the implications that caused the churning in his stomach. 

Mello bolted towards the room the blood lead to, drawing his gun just to be sure. He prodded the door causing it to swing open and reveal a bathroom. The vanity had a few bottles knocked over, but that could just be the result of clumsiness. What definitely wasn’t an accident, however, was the red handprints on every cabinet knob.

Every knob...so someone must have been looking for something. 

By the bottom of the doors, as to not disturb the evidence too much, Mello opened every cabinet. Still, If there was anything out of place there would be close to no way to tell. Mello didn’t spend much time in (Name)’s apartment and even when he did he wasn’t rifling through their bathroom cabinets. 

However, there was one thing that he knew for sure should be in the bottom left cabinet. And, for better or for worse, that was the one thing that was missing.

* * *

  
  
_Mello watched in envy as (Name) read a storybook to the little white haired boy in their arms. They were snuggled up on the couch, Near twirling curled strands of hair around his pointer finger and looking disgustingly cute as he hung onto every word (Name) uttered._

_ Mello wanted attention and normally he would walk right up and say so, but he was sure (Name) wouldn’t be happy with him for interrupting the ritual of putting Near to sleep. It was a damn cycle, getting that kid to actually fall asleep. First was a warm bath, then story time while he dried off, and then, if they were lucky, Near would doze off soon after. If not, well then you would have to repeat the cycle again with some extra steps in between. Mello thought better then to let that happen by his hand. _

_ So, he waited patiently for the boy to get to sleep and for (Name) to hurry out of the guest bedroom before Near woke up again. _

_While he waited, the blond pulled a chair up to some of the higher cabinets that he couldn’t reach on his own and climbed on top as if he were trying to get something from them. Then he was going to throw himself off of that chair and get the most loving attention if it killed him, goddamnit (and it very well could kill him)!_

_ Yes, it was petty and would probably backfire horribly but when Mello wants attention he gets attention. He stood on top of that chair for what must have been thirty minutes judging by the microwave clock before (Name)’s footsteps could be heard coming from the hallway and towards the kitchen. _

_ Timing his fall just right, Mello flung his body towards the floor with a surprisingly genuine yelp of fear. Just before impact, a stinging pain shot through Mello’s arm and then he was one with the floor, flattened by the force of his fall. He heard a hazy call of his name and pounding footsteps come rushing towards him. _

_ Mello groaned and sat up. By now his plan was to fake being hurt and oversell it, but as it turned out he didn’t have to fake anything. He must have hit his head because his surroundings were foggy and (Name)’s panicked voice seemed so far away as they checked to see if he was alright. He was pulled into their arms and that’s when the pain in his arm came back, coaxing an embarrassing cry from his throat. _

_ “Oh, oh god, Mello don’t look at your arm,” he heard (Name) warn but, being the stubborn kid he was, his eyes trailed down to his upper arm where a sickening gash resided. _

_ All he could do was cry more. The fog in his head made it harder to do anything else no matter how embarrassing it was. He felt the floor underneath his body leave him. His first thought was that he was falling but upon closer inspection he was being picked up and carried somewhere. _

_ The bathroom was clear in vision now. The fog began to disperse and he could see the cabinets clearly now. (Name) was searching through one of them hurriedly as he was perched on the side of the bathtub. _

_ “Alright, hold still...” they said, kneeling down next to the bathtub with a box labeled “First Aid”. They threw open the lid and pulled out a roll of bandages, unrolling a sizable portion and beginning to wrap it around Mello’s bleeding gash. _

_ He flinched, reaching for their wrist but a stern look forced him to retract his hand and sit there obediently until they finished. _

_ “There!” (Name) cut the excess wrapping off and loaded everything back into the tin box. “Now, if you get hurt again and I’m not there for whatever reason, just remember the first aid kit is in the bottom left of this cabinet here.” _

_ The blond nodded and choked out an “okay” as he tried to keep the tears in. But when (Name) kissed his forehead and wiped the evidence of his previous meltdown from his cheek with their thumb, it became impossible for him to hold it in. He felt like the whiniest, most annoying kid in the world. _

_ (Name) scooped his shaking self up in their arms and carried him off to bed. Mello knew for certain that he had absolutely no room to make fun of Matt earlier. Sure, he broke a flower pot within ten minutes of their stay but it had been less than twelve hours and Mello had already gotten himself seriously injured. _

_ He deserved all the jokes that would be made at his expense the next morning, Mello was sure of it. _

* * *

The first aid kit was nowhere to be found. 

This new information could point to two things. 

One, (Name) injured themselves while getting mixed up in some shady business and had to bolt right away. Heaven knows Mello knew what that felt like.

Or two, whoever kidnapped them injured them in some way. Either by accident or to make it easier to transport them. Dead weight was preferable over a kicking and screaming target, drawing attention and maybe even the cops. If that were the case, then whoever did this wanted (Name) alive. Why would they grab the first aid kit if they were just gonna let (Name) bleed out anyway?

No, something deeper was afoot here, and Mello was determined to find out what.

* * *

Near’s domain was the bedrooms. 

The guest bedroom was nothing special. Just an air mattress atop a bed frame that rattled whenever you stepped near it. A nightstand and an antique-looking chest of drawers were the only decorations besides a painting that appeared to be painted by (Name) themself. After all these years, Near still remembered the specific style and brush strokes (Name) used whenever they painted. 

After close inspection, nothing seemed out of the ordinary in that room. So much so Near would have guessed it hadn’t been visited in a week or so. 

(Name)’s bedroom, however, was a doozie. It was loaded to the brim with evidence, starting with the shattered window. From the way the glass collected on the floor below the window itself, Near concluded that it had been broken from the outside. So that eliminated the theory that (Name) had to make a quick escape out of their apartment.

Near padded into the room further, eyeing every object with a hawk-like focus. He shifted uncomfortably in his shoes, the main reason being that he was actually wearing shoes. Mello had forced him into the sneakers, saying that if he went barefoot it would only draw attention to them. Near knew this, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be pouty about it.

Near slid open every drawer, making sure nothing was disturbed or taken. He did the same with their closet, fingering through the articles of clothing and noting that their taste hadn’t changed since they last saw each other. He sure as hell hoped he could see her again.

When he came to her bed, he stopped dead in his tracks. Something wasn’t right.

* * *

_ A crash had awoken the little white haired boy from his peaceful slumber that night. With a glance to the clock on the night table, Near saw that it as about midnight. Muffled crying could be heard through the walls and, although Mello had never given Near the chance to hear him cry before, it sounded an awful lot like the hot headed blond.  _

_ Near rubbed his droopy eyes, about to roll out of bed to get (Name) when (Name) themself opened the door to the guest room. They were carrying a body — Mello’s, as it turned out, proving Near’s deduction to be correct — which lightly shook with silent sobs as they tucked him in under the covers and kissed his forehead.  _

_ It wasn’t until (Name) turned to go back out that they noticed Near was sitting up, wide awake. They groaned, not in annoyance but in a pitying way, like they felt bad that he had been woken up.  _

_ “Did we wake you up, Near?” They asked, crossing the room to get to Near’s side of the bed. Mello had turned around so his back faced the both of them. He had a bandage on his arm, but Near thought it best not to ask about it in his fragile state. _

_ The boy slowly nodded his head at their question, holding his pillow closer to his body. _

_ “Oh, I’m sorry. How about another story?” _

_ Near’s head shook his head and scooted closer to the edge of the bed to whisper, “Can I sleep with you?” _

_ He must have had the most pitiful look on his face, because (Name) looked as if they were about to cry at his words. _

_ “Of course, sweetheart. C’mere...” they hoisted the boy by his underarms and balanced him on their hip, bouncing him up and down to make sure they had him secure. As they left the guest room Near looked over (Name)’s shoulder, seeing Mello flop over to Near’s side and steal his blankets. Hey, take advantage of a spacious bed while you can. They would be heading back to Wammy’s soon where twin beds were all they had to sleep on, but at least those beds didn’t have Matt passed out at the foot of them, forcing you to tuck your legs in or push him off. _

_ (Name) dropped Near onto their bed, making him bounce in the springy mattress a few times and coaxing a few rare giggles from him. They tossed the extra pillows into a pile on the floor and turned down the covers. _

_ “What’s this?” Near questioned, picking up a little stuffed unicorn from the pillow pile and brushing his fingers through its matted mane. _

_ “Oh, that’s Rainbow! I’ve had him since I was little.” _

_ Near stared into the unicorn’s black bead eyes, his own distorted face staring back. “Mello says I’m too old for stuffed animals. How come you have one?” _

_(Name) sat on the bed next to him. “You can have stuffed animals if you’re an adult. When you’re an adult you can do whatever you want.” they laughed at their own joke. “And you can do whatever you want, too, despite what Mello says. Well, not  whatever  you want, but don’t worry about getting too old for something. M’kay?”_

_The white haired boy nodded and crawled under the covers, cuddling up to Rainbow despite the fur of its mane tickling his nose._

_ (Name) got up to shut the windows. Wouldn’t want the sun to ruin their sleep at five in the morning. They were about to shut the curtains when they paused, squinting to see something outside the window. They whispered something to themself, something inaudible to Near’s ears. Finally, they shut the window all the way and turned around with a faux smile.  _

_ “Alright! I’ll be right back. I just gotta brush my teeth and stuff.” They headed to the door after ruffling Near’s mop of white hair. “You just snuggle with Rainbow while I’m gone.” _

* * *

Rainbow was nowhere to be found.

If Near hadn’t already ruled out the possibility that (Name) had run away, he would have proposed that they just took Rainbow with them for sentimental reasons.

But, since someone definitely took (Name) against their will, that person must have known how special Rainbow was to them. They would be dealing with someone close to (Name)...or maybe...

That night (Name) looked out the window at something that obviously made them feel uneasy. What was it?

Near went to the window and pulled back the curtains, positioning himself exactly how he remembered (Name) had that night. He grabbed the curtain, about to pull it shut to re-enact the scene when his eyes fell on a square of yellow light.

An open window to a room with its lights on in another section of apartments belonging to the same complex. (Name) would’ve had a clear view of that apartment because of the positioning and how close they were to each other on the outside. Could they have been looking at something in that apartment? What had they seen?

Perhaps — and Near was fully aware that he was grasping at straws — the person in that apartment did this? (Name)’s apartment and that one were so close that if they had balconies they could reach across and touch hands. It wasn’t crazy to think that someone could scale the wall and break in through the window... or was it crazy?

Not to mention (Name)’s bed would be in clear view from that apartment if they completely opened their curtains. The person living in that other apartment could see Rainbow on the bed, if they were a  really devoted stalker, they could find out how much sentimental value it had to (Name).

If the person across from them was indeed watching (Name), then it wasn’t crazy to suspect that they also kidnapped them.

* * *

“Blood!  _Blood_ ,  Near! I found fucking BLOOD and you just want to sit in a room and look at files again!?”

Near could do nothing but sit and take it. He knew that someone should be out in the field, but his strong suit wasn’t chasing people down alleyways or gunfights. That was Mello’s job.

“That doesn’t mean you have to do the same.”

“Oh, trying to get rid of me, now?”

Near’s brows actually furrowed in confusion. “Do...you _want_ to work with me or not?”

“Nah, you’ll just drag me down. I’ve got connections, anyway. C’mon, Matt.” Mello motioned for the brunet to follow him as he turned towards the front door.

Matt shrugged and followed the blond out to his car. They buckled up and Matt had his foot on the petal, hands on the wheel, ready to go. But the car didn’t move.

“What are you waiting for?” Mello huffed.

“You know...there’s a possibility that we don’t find them.” As painful as it was to say, someone had to. Mello’s head was in the clouds, thinking that he would bust into some evil base, guns blazing, and rescue (Name). Obviously Matt had no idea if that’s actually how Mello thought this situation would go, but that’s how he was acting.

“ _Don’t_ .” The blond was staring out the windshield glass, straight ahead at the wall of bushes that blocked them from the road and trapped them in the parking lot. He shook his head and his voice dropped from its previous threatening tone. Now itwas whispered and wavered slightly. “Don’t do that. I can’t...”

When Mello said nothing else, Matt started to back out of their stationary position and towards the near empty road.

Only when they were speeding down the highway did Matt address the situation again.

“You’re right.”  Was he right? “We’ll find (Name). I’m sure of it.”


	14. Mello, Matt, + Near — We Will Find You (Part 3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this story kind of got away from me. It started off as just a simple, heartfelt oneshot and here I am with a part three and one more to come. I was intending to have just three parts in total, but I got way too into it and planned all these events and flashbacks so here they are! This one’s also inevitably way longer giving that there is more to the parts in between the flashbacks. With that, have fun and thank you all so much for following this little series and the book as a whole!  
> Also, warning for cursing because Mello exists.

A defeated sigh, then splashing footsteps trudging out into the damp pavement – there had been a rainstorm, perfectly reflecting the mood of the day. Hell, the week was worthy of a never ending rainstorm.

Ever since (Name) had gone missing, it was like nothing was right. Almost as if someone had moved everything, even the trees rooted to the earth, a little bit to the left and then acted like nothing ever happened. The boys had been separated from (Name) for a while, so not seeing them every day was something they had all grown to accept. Still, just knowing that there was something wrong, some potentially dangerous situation afoot that none of them could have prevented, seemed to shift their entire world.

Matt’s boots dragged on the black stone, tracing patterns in the puddles as he and Mello walked back to the car, parked not too far from the building they had come from. The building itself, not far from any of those around it in appearance, was operated by one of Mello’s connections. It seemed some of his old Mafia “buddies” still had his back, and although the two boys were eternally grateful for this fact, it seemed to be getting them nowhere.

After…now that Matt thought about it, how long had it been? It was difficult to keep track of the days anymore now that they had a metaphorical carrot on a stick held out in front of their faces, giving them a destination that Matt questioned whether or not they would even reach at this point. But confiding in Mello about his doubts was simply out of the question. After his first slip up back at (Name)’s apartment, Matt made sure never to express any thoughts about it being too late for (Name). That perhaps they had been dead for a long time. The thought was absolutely sickening, but it had to be at least considered. Mello, on the other hand, had apparently blocked even the mere possibility from his brain.

He worked like a machine, tirelessly moving from each and every one of his connections without ever wanting a break, but needing one was a different story. Matt’s heart absolutely broke whenever Mello would pass out as soon as his head hit the pillow when Matt practically held him down for some rest. It made him wish for (Name)’s presence even more. At least _they_ could get him to sleep more than two hours every night and eat a decent meal for once.

The car door’s slam brought the boy in the striped shirt back to the present, blinking behind his goggles in slight surprise. He heard squeaking leather beside him and looked over to his brother.

“Should we call it a night? We’ve been to, what, a hundred different places today?” Matt proposed, voice scratching slightly.

But Mello had already pulled out his phone, going down the list of his old contacts still willing to help him. The light clicks of him scrolling halted and he nearly gave himself whiplash with how quickly he turned to glare at the boy beside him. Call it a night? Was he _mad_?

“What, you just want to stop? If I’d known you’d quit on me so easily I woulda left you back with Near.”

Another trait Matt had to put up with – Mello’s constant irritability. Yes, this was common even without the possibility of their childhood nanny being dead, but somehow it had been amped up to one hundred lately.

“You don’t mean that. I just want you to get some sleep. You’ve been at this nonstop.”

“So I’m just supposed to stop looking for (Name) and give that bastard a chance to do whatever the hell with them? I had no idea you didn’t give a shit about (Name).”

“ _Stop_ ,” Matt interjected, fist making contact with the glove box. It wasn’t as hard as he could have hit, but the fact that he did anything like that in the first place was telling enough. Matt never lost control, always trying to level out Mello’s _passion_. “You and I both know that isn’t true.”

“Then stop being a pussy baby and go to the next address.” Mello ordered, rattling off said address afterwards.

Matt, after briefly closing his eyes and heaving a deep breath, inserted the keys into the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot.

The next address led to a restaurant, simple and innocent enough at first glance. Maybe it was just the knowledge that someone in the Mafia owned the place, a cover up that Matt couldn’t help but smile at (it was funny to imagine some scarred, burly dude spinning pizzas), but the place held an atmosphere more intriguing than any other building on the block.

The little bell above the door jingled when the duo walked in. Families all sat at tables, chowing down on pizzas and burgers and pasta and…Matt might just attack one table and steal their food. Before he could do so, Mello nudged Matt’s arm and pointed him over to the front counter where adults were lined up to order food. They took their place in line and waited for their chance to come to the front of the line. Once everyone in front them had finished ordering and stepped out of line, they came face to face with the man behind the counter.

He didn’t exactly look in his element, large arms stretching the fabric of his rolled up sleeves as he towered over everyone in the place. Once again, it could just be Matt’s prior knowledge and experience speaking, but the guy even looked like he felt awkward and out of place. His stiff expression only softened when he laid eyes upon the blondie standing next to Matt.

A hearty laugh startled everyone in the vicinity by its volume alone. “What the hell are you doin’ here, kid?” he man boomed, leaning in and speaking considerably quieter for confidentiality’s sake. “Thought you’d been blown up.”

The glare Mello sent his contact could be felt without having to even look at it. “We need to find someone,” he deadpanned. Matt was thoroughly relieved that Mello had chosen to let that little comment go instead of _dealing_ with it himself. He continued when getting the go ahead from the brawny man behind the counter, “Did anyone come around looking for some kind of hideout or safehouse? They probably weren’t too specific about the reason or gave some cheap lie about what they needed it for. It’d have to be pretty well hidden, too. We haven’t been able to track them in any old warehouses or abandoned buildings.”

When Mello had finished his description, the man brought a hand to his chin, the new angle allowing Matt to get a good view of his nametag. ‘Terry’. Matt had no idea why he felt like laughing, but he did. Most likely because that name was so painfully fake but there was still the possibility that it was because he hadn’t gotten any sleep in more than forty eight hours.

‘Terry’ scratched at his chin. “Well, even if I did know somethin’, pipsqueak, it’d cost ya.” A taunting yet disturbingly playful grin stretched his cracked lips.

Mello let out a noise dangerously close to a snarl, and Matt had to remind himself that if he let his friend jump over the counter and attack, this guy could take him down in a few seconds maximum. Then again, Matt learned never to underestimate the power of pure rage. So, before things could get too out of hand too quickly, Matt squeezed Mello’s shoulder in an effort to comfort him while pulling out his wallet. The only cash inside was meant to buy the two a hot meal and maybe even a better place to stay, but this was far too important to worry about saving that meaningless wad of cash. In exchange for any bit of information about (Name) Matt would gladly hand over even his car.

Terry eagerly swiped the cash from Matt’s outstretched hand and pocketed it, getting right to the information they needed immediately after.

“Some guy came in, must have been months ago lookin’ for a place like you were sayin’ – completely off the grid, away from people. I had a place like that, and am always eager to help people in need—“ Terry gave a wink and continued “—so I sold it to him. I asked what he needed it for ‘cause I got pretty curious, he seemed like he was in a rush, ya see? Rather nervous ‘bout it, too. But he wouldn’t spill.”

Feeling eyes on him, Matt turned to Mello, who was already staring. Matt could practically see the phrase “I told you so” reflected in his eyes.

“Would you be able to give us the location?” Mello piped up.

Terry recited the address easily and, faster than he could react, Matt was being dragged from the restaurant. He dug his feet into the carpet to keep from toppling forward, managing to slow Mello down at least a little to give him time to process. However, Matt only ended up with more distractions.

Right by the exit was a family of four – a single parent and three kids. They must have been elementary school age, if not a bit older. Only two out of the four seats were taken up by bodies, as one of the children was balanced on the parent’s lap and one of the other kids had abandoned their own seat to peer over the shoulder of their sibling, watching them play whatever videogame they held. Both of them were pretty enamored by it, so it must have been good.

“Matt, what are you doing!? Let’s go—“

* * *

_“(Name), hurry up! Let’s go!”_

_The rather tired adult was being dragged by the hand through the mall, their feet nearly leaving the ground at the force of the young, blond child._

_It wasn’t often that the kids at Wammy’s got to have an outing, so when (Name) announced that they would be taking the three boys to the mall for some quality time away from the orphanage, they acted like dogs told they’d be going for a walk._

_They weren’t exactly an anomaly, but they definitely stood out from the crowds of people that surrounded them. For one thing, Near had refused to put on shoes. This wouldn’t have been so much of a problem if the floors weren’t so shiny with wax from the previous cleaning, causing the poor child to slip and slide every few seconds , even forcing him to the ground once. After Near had pulled himself up and insisted he was alright, (Name) had elected to carry him for the rest of the trip._

_Matt had also received a few odd looks from people due to the goggles he kept perched on his head. He gave them all a wave and continued on his way, glancing down at his handheld console every few seconds to make sure he was still in first place._

_“Mello, please slow down! I don’t want you to fall, too,” (Name) fussed, adjusting her hold on the white-haired child in their arms at the mention of the incident. “What store do you want to go to first? I’ve got a coupon for—“_

_“GAH!!”_

_“What!? What’s wrong? Are you hurt, Matty!?”_

_At Matt’s sudden outburst, (Name) was on him in a second, Near balanced in one arm while the other turned the goggle-faced boy around by the shoulder and scanned him for injuries. But the only thing that was injured was his game console, having been dropped on the ground and swiftly retrieved in his excitement. He motioned the console around frantically in one direction, specifically towards the one store Matt had always wanted to visit._

_“GAMESTOP. Can we? Please, (Name)?” Matt begged, gripping their pant legs and tugging slightly._

_Even without the puppy dog eyes Matt flashed them, (Name) would have said yes. This was their opportunity to spend time with the boys away from that dreadfully eerie place. Especially considering…well, they just knew that there was no way they would be able to reject anything either child proposed today, hence the larger than usual stretch of their wallet tucked in their pocket._

_“Of course, sweetie. Go crazy.”_

_Matt didn’t have to be told twice. He made a bolt for the entrance of his dream store, a shouting Mello quickly following behind. It was at that moment that (name) realized they had become that person with the obnoxiously loud children that seemed to be a staple in every single public place. Except Near, Near was preciously quiet. It may have been terrible to admit, but (name) was almost relieved that they were left with the calmest child of the group while the other two, as wonderful as they were chaotic, went off by themselves._

_“What about you, hon? What games do you like?” the nanny inquired to the child tucked in their arms, browsing the few shelves that welcomed shoppers into the store by the front entrance._

_Near merely shrugged, motioning for (name) to go further down the length of the shelf. As they did, his face remained the same, still as stone, until they got to the end of the shelf. “These are all games Matt would like. Are there any puzzle games?”_

_(Name) chuckled, searching the overhead signs above each isle for something indicating Near’s specific request. Let’s see… RPG, action, fighting, racing…there is no way there wasn’t a single puzzle game in this entire store, Thought the caretaker, sighing and now shifting their focus to finding an employee to ask for assistance._

_Their first instinct was the front desk, naturally. But as they arrived, there was no one by the cash register. Alright, mildly strange but there could still be a perfectly reasonable explanation for this._

_“Ah, hello?” (Name) called hesitantly, head swiveling in every direction._

_What they did not expect in response was a bloodcurdling scream – no, more like a battle cry – emitting from an isle on the other side of the store. (Name)’s parental senses spiked immediately, tightening their grip on Near before booking it to the origin place of the shout. Before they could even get there, they collided with a smaller figure, mostly black with a lemon-colored head of hair, though tousled and wild. It took a moment to regain balance, but once they had made sure Near wasn’t about to fall or anything of the sort, they addressed their other charge who was now aiming a couple of video game cases like one would do with ninja stars in the direction he had run from._

_“Mello what happened!? Where’s Matt and— what on earth are you doing?”_

_“He didn’t escape in time. We might have to accept defeat and leave without him.”_

_“Enough messing around, young man!” there was no time to cringe at how much they sounded like an overbearing parent. Right now (name) was more concerned with what their kids had gotten up to. Ah, did they just call the boys their kids? “Explain. Now, please.”_

_“Matt’s been captured. I’m not sure he’ll make it out alive—alright, alright! I’m sorry!” Mello dropped the act as soon as he turned around and saw the horrified look (Name) was giving him. “The worker dude went ballistic on him. We didn’t do anything though!”_

_Doubtful, (Name) hoisted near up higher on their hip and followed Mello’s lead to the isle in which Matt was apparently being held hostage. The situation wasn’t so different from the blonde’s initial description of it, as (name) came to find out. He wasn’t bound, but the way the employee held Matt by his shirt collar was close enough. The words he spoke to the boy were muffled by gritted teeth and flying spit. Matt appeared equally confused and disgusted as his face was wetted by the shouting man’s saliva._

_“Um, excuse me!?” (Name) demanded more than asked, marching right up to tear Matt away from the man. They made no fuss when Matt hid his face in their shirt (though they were mostly sure it was to wipe off the spit from his skin rather than because of fear). “What do you think you’re doing!?”_

_“Your kid fuckin’ attacked me!” The man accused, pointing wildly at Mello._

_Barely letting the employee finish, Mello defended himself, “He was after Matt! What was I supposed to do?!”_

_“QUIET.”_

_Both parties shut their mouths._

_“Matt, explain. I’ll know if you’re not being honest with me.”_

_Said boy hung his head, knowing this fact to be true. The three of them might all be studying to be professional detectives, but when it came to them, (Name) could read them like an open book. It was almost scary, and they often wondered if they had asked for deduction tips from Watari or Roger, perhaps another kid at Wammy’s. Either way, Matt knew it was better to get everything out in the open right now._

_Wordlessly, Matt lifted the hem of his striped shirt, allowing a multitude of video game cases to clatter to the floor. He then looked to Mello, not even needing to gesture for him to do the same before more games were falling to the ground. He tossed the games he’d been using as weapons down too, for good measure._

_“Boys, I want you to apologize.”_

_“To this asshole? He was literally about to kill Matt!”_

_“I’ll get to him later. Right now, I want you to apologize.”_

_With a defiant groan, Mello drawled out the words “I’m sorry” like they were the most difficult words in the English language to pronounce. Knowing that if they pushed him to say it like he meant it Mello might just explode, (Name) left it alone. They looked to Matt, who did the same under the pressure of their stare._

_Now that that was over and done with, (Name)’s blazing glare flickered to the still seething employee. Anger turned to what might have been fear once the realization hit him that he was now the target of the protective wrath that often came as a consequence when you messed with someone’s child. Sure, these boys might not be (Name)’s biological children, but he didn’t have to know that. “And you, what made you think you could treat my kids like that? My boy might be terrifying at times but he_ never _attacks unless provoked!”_

_Mello was pulled protectively to his nanny, a triumphant sneer gracing his features._

_“L-Look, whatever, lady. Your kids tried to shoplift, so I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”_

_“Fine!” Mello called over his shoulder, already turning to leave. “We don’t want your crappy games anyway!”_

_“What he said!” (Name) agreed, flipping an imaginary strand of hair out of their face and beginning to follow Mello out of the store until they realized Matt was still rooted in the same spot. “C’mon, love, we can get games somewhere else.”_

_This seemed to work, however minimally, on getting the kid out of the establishment and into the open and airy corridors of the mall. Once they were out there, however, (Name) had to make a few things clear._

_“I’m disappointed in you boys, really I am. You don’t ever steal from anywhere, no matter how rude their employees are, do you hear me?”_

_All three boys, including Near, who hadn’t spoken throughout that entire disagreement, nodded their heads._

_“But at the same time, the next time someone treats you like that I give you permission to knock their lights out.”_

_Mello snorted, and, even with his mood sufficiently dampened by the lack of new videogames in his possession, Matt gave a quiet chuckle._

_As the mood lightened around the small group, (Name) thought it to be a descent time to ask the question, “Why did you think you had to steal those games, anyway?”_

_The smiles vanished soon after this question was put out there for consideration. All (Name) was met with in response was shrugs and mutterings of “I don’t know.” With their free arm, they placed their hand on their hip, eyebrows raised as a warning before more honest answers were eventually spilled._

_“It’s just…you know we don’t have any money, so what were we supposed to do?”_

_“Ask me to buy it for you.”_

_“But then you’d have to spend actual money on us,” added Matt._

_(Name) stood, absolutely dumbfounded at the responses of these children. When did they become so considerate that they would steal to avoid being a nuisance? No, considerate was nowhere near the right word. Paranoid? Terrified that they would be so much of a bother for asking for material items that they would break the law to appease someone they didn’t want annoyed with them? That might be it. Throughout all their time caring for these kids, (Name) never really took into consideration the toll their upbringing must have had on their relationships with other people. They cursed themselves for being so ignorant. It was one thing to be taken care of by someone whose job it was to do so, but when their relationship with one another escalated to (Name) actually buying them things with their own money…Well, the transition must still be a bit strange to get used to._

_(Name)’s eyes met the ground and they sighed, lifting Near only to place him gently down on the ground, letting him find his footing before releasing him completely. They crouched down to eye level with the three boys in front of them, expression soft and gaze even gentler._

_“I want you to hear me when I say that you would in no way be a burden to me if I spent money on you. That’s what this whole trip was for, right? And let me be clear when I say that I would blow my entire life’s savings if it would make you boys happy.”_

_(Name)’s words rung in the boys’ ears, tugging the corners of their lips up in sweet smiles that only served to make (Name)’s heart soar with joy. The caretaker reached out, tucking Mello’s hair behind his ear, giving Matt’s nose a light tap with their index finger, and ruffling Near’s curled tresses respectively._

_“Now, what do you say I treat you to some ice cream? And, hey, maybe we won’t get kicked out this time!” (Name) beamed, bending down to heave Near into their arms again, but halted when the albino boy requested they wait a moment._

_He reached into a baggy pocket of his pajama pant-like bottoms, pulling out a flat, rectangular object._

_“You didn’t,” Mello breathed, almost sounding impressed._

_Near held his small arm out to Matt, who hesitated in taking the game from him, unsure of its intended owner or how the child even got a hold of it. Eventually though, he took the case, inspecting its cover and finding that it was one he had actually been hoping to own._

_“I thought you’d like it when I saw it,” Near explained, and when Matt looked at him, he was surprised to see the young boy offering him a rare smile._

_Wasting no time at all, Matt enveloped his younger brother in a bone crushing hug._

* * *

“Matt? Matt! The hell are you doing? Let’s _go_!”

Coming back to his senses, Matt finally looked his friend in the eye. He had no idea how he would react to the notion he was about to put out, but it had to be done.

“We have to tell Near about this,” the redhead deadpanned, wasting no time in getting to the point. He never really was one for beating around the bush anyway, and he knew Mello respected that.

“Fine.” The response and how quickly it came was a bit startling, but Matt took it graciously nonetheless. “We’ll call him on the way.”

And so it was settled. Matt was pulling out his phone and dialing the number as he inserted the key into the ignition. It rung once, twice…one more time…come on, pick up…

“Hello,” crackled a voice from the other end of the call, as monotonous as ever. It was almost a relief to hear something so familiar, especially now. Matt hoped to hear (Name)’s own kind tone greet he and his brothers so casually sometime soon.

“We found something that I think you’ll want to check out.”

* * *

Getting a sudden urgent call from Matt wasn’t something Near considered surprising. What he did find rather interesting was, apparently, they had uncovered a particularly useful little bit of information in their “investigation” or, as Near referred to it, their shot in the dark. Most likely literally speaking, as he was incredibly familiar with Mello’s affinity with randomly pulling a gun when he felt the time was right.

“And what might that be?” the youngest boy asked in response to Matt’s intriguing statement. Something he thought might interest him, huh? Count Near in as interested. After all, he did trust his brothers in their abilities. What concerned him most were their methods, but that was a different conversation – or intervention – for another day.

“Remember your theory about all this being a stalker’s doing? Well, I think you might be right.”

Matt paused for a moment to address the quiet utterance of “It wasn’t really _his_ theory, we all agreed on it,” that the phone managed to pick up from the passenger’s seat, presumably. Near’s lips quirked upwards in a quiet little smile.

“Okay, buddy,” Matt sighed, getting back on topic, “So, we found out from a connection that around the time (Name) went missing someone was looking for a hideout totally off the grid. We got the address.”

From his crouched position, Near perked up. He placed a hand on the coffee table beside him to use as leverage in lifting himself to his feet. “Send it to me, I’ll be on my way.” And with no other words, he pressed the ‘end call’ button, silencing any words Matt might have said in response. There was nothing else _to_ say in Near’s opinion. No point in wasting time with pointless pleasantries. They had some twisted bastard to catch.

He shuffled over to the kitchen, the shoes he often wore when he was forced outside sitting on the floor by the island. If (Name) were here, they’d fuss at him to put them on. He’d hurt his feet on the concrete if he didn’t, or did he just want them to carry him again? The albino boy chuckled at the thought and bent down to pick up the shoes. Velcro – he had no idea how to tie them. He was like his predecessor in that way. (Name) always told him “If you’re going to have a role model for the everyday stuff – cooking, dressing yourself – please, for the love of god, do _not_ choose L.” always followed by the laugh that never failed to make him feel warm.

Once his shoes were on and secure, Near headed to the front door of the apartment. He took one last look around at the interior, the same couch, kitchen, and hallway he remembered seeing as he stepped into (Name)’s place the very first time they had the boys overnight. Then, as he shut the door behind him, Near hoped beyond hope that he could see the little apartment inhabited again by the same jovial person he knew. When they found (Name), his wish would come true.

Undoubtedly.

After a quick call to a chauffeur, Near was on his way to the address Matt had sent moments after their phone call.

The location in question was a rather small, dingy warehouse in practically the middle of nowhere. There was nothing around for miles, and Near was quite astonished that there was even an address for the dinky little thing. Whoever would have paid for this thing was definitely desperate.

The snowy-haired boy clambered out of the vehicle, feet hitting the dirt and, suddenly, he was glad he listened to (Name)’s voice in his head and put on shoes. The mix of earth and stone crunched underneath his soles as he walked over to the front entrance, genuinely shocked to see that neither Matt nor Mello had gone in yet. Though, the blonde did look as if he were about to jump out of his skin just to get moving. I mean…if his skin were still there Matt technically couldn’t scold him for leaving, could he? Anyway.

“What took you so long? We’re ready to go!”

“You could have gone in without me.”

“No way, man,” Matt interjected, his usual lazy smile stretching his lips. Perhaps Near was imagining it, but there was something more genuine about this smile than his others. “You’re a part of this too.”

“Yeah. Now, let’s do this,” Mello said, voice becoming heavy as he drew his gun from a pocket inside his jacket, pointing it toward the ground and facing the door of the warehouse. The blonde looked to Matt, who nodded and reached behind him to pull _two_ guns from his back pockets.

Near grew puzzled, though he didn’t show it. All of the sudden one of those guns was being handed to him, barrel pointed down.

“Back at (Name)’s place, the guns were just a precaution. We didn’t actually expect someone to be there days after the crime, but now…well, anyone could be hiding in there armed with whatever the hell,” Matt explained, easing the weapon toward the smaller boy until he eventually took the handle. “You know how to shoot, right?”

Near nodded. He never used this knowledge, but he knew. He was practically held down and force fed the information, but he absorbed it nonetheless. The truth was, he despised the idea of even holding one of those things, unless it was a water gun, those were cool. But even Near knew that he was eventually going to have to know how to use one of them at some point, and he couldn’t think of a better time to use one than to come closer to bringing (Name) home safely.

They were all armed. They were all ready. So why was it so difficult to move?

Ah, that was the dumbest question in existence. Why was it so difficult? Why is anyone afraid of entering a game? The possibility of losing. As soon as the boys entered that warehouse, there was no going back. It was only barreling forward without any foresight on what might happen – if they would exit that warehouse alive, if they would exit with (Name) by their side. If they entered that warehouse, it meant that all the work they have put forth to try and bring (Name) back safely could backfire and leave them with nothing. But, in the end, wasn’t that the risk they all signed up for?

Deep breaths shared collectively among the group, Mello began to stand back in an effort to kick the door down with one efficient swing. Before he could deliver the blow, Matt placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t you think we should, like, check if it’s open, first? Don’t wanna scare the guy and have him…act irrationally.” Both Near and Mello knew full well what Matt meant by “act irrationally” – _“Have him kill (Name)”._

Mello merely nodded, instead reaching his hand out, fingers closing around the rusted, metal door handle. He twisted, the metal scraping in protest but allowing a crack between the door and its frame to form. Each boy internally cringed at the _squeak_ the door made every inch it opened, until it was finally open enough that they could all fit through. One by one, the young detectives made their way into the warehouse.

Although guns were drawn and alerts were high, there didn’t seem to be any threat that would elicit such reactions. The entire place was eerie, indeed, but nothing gave off the feel that it was dangerous yet. The air was musky and thick, feeling like they were inhaling pure smoke. Even so, through the haze, a sickening scent crawled through their nasal passages. Only a steady stream of light shone in from a window close to the ceiling. Although they would have split up to search under normal circumstances, they seemed to form a silent agreement that none of them wanted to be alone right about now. So, forming a sort of huddled formation, the trio shuffled around the space, inspecting each corner and crevice.

As you entered the warehouse, there were three main attractions to visit. One was the corner off to the left, farthest from the door. A stack of boxes, some cardboard, some wood, sectioned off a small area from the eyes of anyone who just happened to walk in. Upon closer inspection, the sectioned off area appeared to have been treated as a bedroom. A cot was pushed up against the wall, leaving some room for stacks of books, plants, and even some cheap painting supplies. Whoever set this up certainly wanted to keep their prisoner happy. Near thought of the word “prisoner” as soon as he laid eyes on the expertly installed shackles attached to the same wall the cot was closest to.

The trio moved on to the next object in the warehouse, which was simply a chair. Now, a chair doesn’t seem all to suspicious on its own, but the fact that it was positioned specifically in the direction facing the sectioned off area, the person sitting in said chair getting a direct view of the cot without any obstacles blocking the way, was what made it disturbing. The captor must have been able to watch their prisoner sleep from that chair.

Apparently coming to the same horrid conclusions about the chair, all three boys decided it was time to move on. The final object of interest – what looked to be a stack of boxes covered by a white sheet – was located on the far right of the warehouse. This was where the nauseating smell was at its most pungent. _Oh, god, no._

A startling clatter reverberated off the walls as Mello threw down his gun. He practically dove to grab the sheet in his fist, sending both the sheet and a layer of grime flying. “(NAME)!” he cried, coughing immediately afterwards. The sheet was soon thrown aside and the remaining two boys swatted it out of their way when what was under it was revealed.

A limp body, perhaps having been there for days, even weeks judging by the smell, was lying amongst the boxes. When they were alive, they must have fallen into the box pile either before or after the shot was delivered to their stomach. Now, the blood had long since stopped pouring, leaving mud-like, almost black stains and puddles around them and down their sides. But there was one defining trait that the young detectives noticed that caused all three of them to sigh with pure relief – this wasn’t their (Name).


	15. Can I Offer You Some Fluff During These Trying Times? (All — Pick Up Lines)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I promise the last chapter to We Will Find You is coming, I just haven’t been able to work on it because school’s being mean. But I didn’t want to leave you hanging, so here’s a scenario about the boys using pick up lines on you that I had in the archives just waiting to be posted!
> 
> I apologize for the lack of updates. How about we all petition to cancel the academics?

Mello~

Staying up late every night and watching security footage was not fairing well for Mello. Dark circles started to form underneath his eyes and Matt and you pointed out that he was turning into L, all he needed was black hair and a haircut, to which he responded “The day I cut my hair short is the day the world ends.”

Usually when Mello got tired he would turn into a grumpy, adorable kitten but, mixed with the excessive amount of chocolate he consumed due to boredom, he had turned loopy. Matt had relied on his headphones to keep him sane, whereas you were left with no escape from the babbling blond.

Mello rambled on and on about how he was going to beat Near with every fiber of his being, slowly getting sidetracked into a conversation about sheep. 

“They’re so fucking fluffy. Standingaround, eating grass, taunting me.” The blond mumbled, his head resting on your lap as you stroked his hair, listening with genuine interest. 

“Mhmm, how do they taunt you?” you inquired, wanting to know more before your boyfriend fell asleep and you never got to find out why he felt so threatened by white, fluffy animals.

“They just... _ do _ .” 

“Well, I’ll always keep you safe from the mean, mean sheep.” 

Mello shifted so that he was gazing up at you. He lifted his hand to your face and gently smacked your cheek with his palm, rubbing his tired eyes with the other hand.

“Aw, babe you’re so sweet when you talk like that... You make me melt like chocolate in the summer~ ”

“I do  _ what _ ?” 

Before Mello could answer, unconsciousness grasped him and pulled him down into the dimension of sleep. You sighed, disappointed that you wouldn’t get to hear more, yet also relieved that Mello could finally get the sleep that he needed. 

“G’night, Mels,” You whispered, brushing his bangs to the side and kissing his forehead, “You make me melt, too.”  


Matt~

Matt’s been acting strangely clingy all day. As soon as you noticed this fact, you immediately figured that it was an anniversary or either one of your birthdays and it had slipped your mind. However, upon further inspection of your phone calendar, today appeared to be nothing special.

You were seated on the couch, watching a bit of television while Matt washed the dishes. You had insisted that you could handle that task yourself, but the goggle-wearing sweetheart had insisted that you relax.

Suddenly you heard the sink turn off and footsteps lead up to the couch. You turned around to see the redhead wrapping his arms around your shoulders from behind.

“ Hey, I lost my phone number...can I have yours? ” He asked with a sly smile.

“Matt, you have my number. Is that a pickup line? You know we’re already dating, right? Is my number not working?” You interrogated, grabbing his phone from the coffee table and calling your cell from it to ensure that your phone number still worked.

“No- it’s... you’re supposed to go along with it!”

“Well, come up with a better one next time, dumb ass,” You tossed Matt’s phone back at him, the device landing in his lap. He pouted and shoved it into his jacket pocket, getting up to return to the kitchen.

“You’re no fun.”

L~

The room grew dim and increasingly empty as the hours ran further into the day, eventually turning to night. Despite the signs that you should be on your way home, you stayed with the only detective who thought it appropriate to work into the ungodly hours of the night.

You glanced over at L, back turned to you with his nose practically pressed against the computer screen. You rolled your eyes and switched on the main light of the room, saying, “You’re gonna ruin your eyes reading in the dark like that.”

L did not respond but, at the looks of it, kept on reading the minuscule words on his screen with intent.

“Do you need anything? Water? Maybe some cake?” You asked, giggling at the end of your words for no other reason than the tiredness getting to your brain.

“No, thank you.  I already have you, and you’re sweeter than cake, anyway ,” L droned matter of factly, not even tearing his eyes away from the luminescent screen.

“Awww! Oh my god, L!” You squealed, running up to L and enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug.

“Ah...(name), I c-can’t breathe...”

Near~

You could practically hear the blood flow to your brain as you spun around in a desk chair at painful hours of the night. The screens that filled the SPK headquarters shone in your eyes, keeping you awake along with the unhealthy amounts of caffeine you had consumed.

Your white haired boyfriend sat crouched on the floor by your feet. The clicking of building blocks rang throughout the otherwise empty room as he stacked them on top of one another, paying no mind to anything else.

You sighed, placing your chin on the palm of your hand and deflating on the spot. No amount of caffeine could keep you here as late as Near always stayed, no matter how much you wanted it to. You hated that he was here alone all the time and, even though he always tried to convince you that he didn’t care, you knew it took a toll on his mental state. 

You shifted in your chair, about to heave your body up when Near’s monotonous voice kept you still.

“(Name).”

You waited for him to continue, and spoke up when he stayed silent, “What’s up, babe?”

“ Do you like LEGO ?” Near inquired. His eyes finally met yours as he twirled a LEGO piece in between his fingers.

“Uh, I guess—“

“ Because I want to build a world with you... ”

You froze, wondering if the caffeine was getting to your head or if Near had actually used a pickup line on you — and a goddamn adorable one at that.

A weak smile tugged at your lips. You slid off the office chair and dropped to your knees on the cold tile beside Near, throwing your arms around the boy without another word.

Though he stiffened at first, Near melted under your embrace. He buried his face into your shoulder and wrapped his noodle arms around your torso. You stayed like this for either a minute, or an hour. It was so quiet that you could hear your hearts beating in sync. Everything was so perfect, so loving, so-

“ARE YOU GUYS STILL HERE!?”

Your heart nearly burst from your chest at the sound of a door banging against metal and the rough tone of Rester calling out to you.

Near grumbled and shoved his face into your neck, trying and failing to escape the booming echo of footsteps that approached our little heap on the floor.

“Yeah,” your voice came out ragged and small, but enough for Rester to hear and follow, “right here.”

“You both look exhausted! Come on, let’s get you to sleep.”

When Near barely moved a muscle, you took it upon yourself to pick up his limp body from the floor bridal style and carry him to bed. Though you almost dropped the poor boy more than once, you’d say you did a fairly good job. And, once you were both snuggled up in bed, you got a good nights rest of a solid three hours of sleep. It was the most Near’s gotten in weeks, so you were  _ not _ complaining.

Light~

Though you were already in a relationship with Light, the cheesy lines and swooning from him never ceased. You wouldn’t have to fend him off with a stick but he loved to be all over you even when he already won you over, and you loved that about him.

This was mainly exhibited when you two were alone together, him finding public displays of affection to be childish and overall unnecessary as everyone you hung around with at school respected your relationship quite nicely.

The two of you were strolling on the sidewalk after a headache inducing day of school. His arm was resting lazily over your neck as you walked while all attention was focused on you and you alone. You ranted about the difficulties of the day and, although they were mostly all minor inconveniences, they really got under your skin once all added up.

When you had finished, you huffed and rubbed at your temple.

Breaking the silence that followed, Light blurted,  “How would you like to be the goddess of the new world?  You wouldn’t have to deal with that crap anymore.”

You laughed, reaching up to lace your fingers with the hand that dangled by your shoulder. “Dude, I barely know what taxes are. I don’t think I can handle being a goddess.”

“Aw, that’s a shame,” Light pouted jokingly.

The two of you came to a stop in front of his house, him pulling you flush against him and just staring wistfully (up/down) at you.

“What?” You giggled while attempting to hide your face in your hands, but your brunet boyfriend took them by the wrists and held them to his chest.

“You just look so beautiful, I don’t want you to hide yourself.” He whispered, inching closer to your face with every word until his breath tickled your lips.

“Shut up,” you rolled your eyes, but pulled the boy in for a kiss by the collar of his pristine uniform nonetheless. Neither of you could conceal the laughter that interrupted your sweet kiss, not really knowing where it came from but indulging it still.

“Do you want to come in?” Light’s lips still brushed against yours. “I’m sure Sayu will be delighted to see you.”

“Oh, I’d love to but I don’t want to intrude—“

“Nonsense. Come on.”

And so, Light guided you into his home, his mother and Sayu cheerfully greeting you at the door and whisking you away into a night of wonderful conversation and a lovely dinner.

Matsuda~

You took advantage of the daylight, working nonstop so that you wouldn’t have to stay after hours to get your unfinished work done.

Through your tireless efforts, you failed to notice a pair of familiar eyes glancing back at you every so often. You only noticed a change in your boyfriend’s behavior when he came rolling up to your desk in his wheely chair, resting his chin on his elbows and looking at you expectantly.

“Hey, what’s up, Teddy Bear?” You greeted, barely tearing your eyes from the papers splayed out all across your desk.

Matsuda grinned from ear to ear every time he heard that nickname. It made him feel wanted and loved whenever he was around you. Sometimes, this caused the filter between his brain and his mouth to thin, allowing whatever he’s thinking in that moment to slip out.

“ Do you have a map? Because I’m getting lost in your eyes... ” he said dreamily.

Your head shot up in an instant, puzzled by the seemingly random affection, only to see Matsuda covering his lips as a dark blush began to rise on his cheeks and the tips of his ears. “Th-that’s not...I-“

“Honey...” you shook your head and sighed, placing your pen down flat on the desk, “That is the literal worst line ever but it sounds wonderful coming from you.”

“O-oh. Thanks?” He chuckled nervously, massaging the back of his neck as his skin became slick with sweat.

You leaned over the desk and pecked his lips before collecting your paperwork in a neat stack, placing it all carefully in your shoulder bag, careful not to bend any corners. “Why don’t I finish my work in that nice little coffee shop across the street. Join me?”

“Y-yes! I’d love to. It’s getting a little stuffy in here, anyway.”

Misa~

“Ughhhhh I’m so tired! What a day!” Misa exclaimed, stretching out her arms above her head as she walked over to her folding chair. The white, feathery wings fastened to her back smacked people and equipment as she passed them, but you saw her as nothing but elegant.

Your girlfriend plopped her butt down into the fragile chair, giving Matsuda a scare when it nearly toppled over. With beads of sweat trickling down his forehead, he handed the girl her coffee.

“Aw, thanks, Matsu! And you too, (Name)! I wouldn’t be able to do any of my scenes without you guys cheering me on!”

You chuckled, cheeks turning a dusted shade of pink at Misa’s praise. “Dont give us all the credit, babe. You’re the one giving your all up there.”

Misa twisted in her chair to grab at your hand and intertwine her fingers with yours. “You’re too sweet, honey! Y’know, if it were up to me, you’d be the one wearing these wings!”

“Oh, I don’t know, I couldn’t take your place!” You said, gesturing to the fountain where Misa’s scene had just been filmed.

The blonde giggled and brought your fingers to her lips, giving them a couple kisses before shaking her head. “I meant  I’d have you in these wings because you’re an absolute Angel , silly!”

Before you could even begin to respond, Matsuda beat you to it. “Aww my gosh, you guys! Could I be the best man at your wedding?”

“Hmm...” you pretended to ponder while tapping your chin with your index finger. “How do you feel about being the flower boy?”

“Done!”


	16. Mello, Matt, + Near — We Will Find You (Part 4 — final)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I have any idea that a simple oneshot would turn into a four part series? Nope. Do I like where it went nonetheless? Hells yeah. Seriously, when I wrote the first part I thought I might just leave it at that and here we are, thousands of words and four chapters later. Thank you to anyone who stuck along for the journey with me!
> 
> I have a vague idea for another mini-series thing, and was debating whether I should make that into its own separate book or keep it in here. On that note, I also wondered if it would be better for readers if I put this series into its own book, since it technically isn’t a oneshot anymore.

Matt stared down at the lifeless body at his feet. They had moved it from the box pile and splayed it out for a quick medical examination before they sent it off to the coroner’s office. The man with the bullet lodged in his abdomen – the man the three boys were ninety percent sure kidnapped (Name) right from their apartment and brought them here, fully intent on keeping them – was now dead.

A whirl of emotions was all either boy could experience right about now. This meant that (Name) got away...maybe. If (Name) was in fact the one that shot their kidnapper, then their freedom was definitely a possibility. But if not, the kidnapper could have been trying to sell (Name) off, and the buyer got hostile. Either way, there was still the problem of figuring out where (Name) was now.

But now wasn’t the time to let their emotions and their own personal attachments to the case get the better of them, is what they thought, as they proceeded to let their emotions get the better of them.

The very first thing that Mello did after an ambulance and a team of investigators were called down to the warehouse was punch a wall. Near remained silent as Mello’s shrieks of pain bounced off the walls. Matt was immediately by his brother’s side, patching up his injured hand all with blurry eyes.

But now, here Matt was, still playing doctor. While his brothers worked on investigating the scene and directing the investigative team, Matt was put to work on collecting some brief information about the crime based on the body alone. But, even with his nylon gloves and his goggles secured in place, Matt couldn’t bring himself to move or even touch the absolute monster that now lay defeated below him. Matt’s hand twitched and his lip quivered ever so slightly.

“Matt? You need some help?” Mello was calling to him. Mello – the boy who was also distraught, the boy who had also lost so much. How could Matt be so selfish?

“Hmm? Nah, I’m good. Just gotta start,” he gestured to the corpse, “this.” He acted like he was adjusting his gloves.

“Give me some gloves,” Mello said bluntly, holding out his uninjured hand and waiting until Matt eventually did as he asked, knowing full well that Mello was not they type to just let things go.

Mello donned the gloves, snapping the nylon around his wrists and crouching down next to the corpse. He huffed, scanning the body as if deciding where to start when suddenly his eyes shot to the bullet wound piercing his torso. He crawled along the side of the body to get better access, pushing the man’s bloodied shirt up.

“What the fuck are you—oh my god!” 

The next thing Matt knew, Mello’s fingers were delving deep into the wound only to pull out the bullet.

“What? We need this! I’m just making the process a bit quicker,” The blonde explained, retrieving a plastic bag and dropping the bullet into it as if it were as normal as finding a cool rock at the beach and putting it in a little baggie for safe keeping.

“You could have gone easier! What if you just messed up the evidence?”

“Who needs evidence when this fucker literally kidnapped (Name)?”

“Listen, I know this is how you cope and all, but your ‘guns blazing’ attitude right now is really not very necessary.”

“Why are you talking like a fucking therapist? I’m fine, and so is your precious evidence. Can we move on now?”

Before Matt could even speak, a softer voice interrupted him. “You’re not actually serious, are you?” Near, who was on his knees and crouched down, poking through a few boxes from the pile in search for any clues, inserted himself into the argument. “Mello, you’re hurting. That’s okay. We all are.”

“I don’t need you to tell me what I’m feeling, Near! I’m not something for you to probe and extract information out of, you got that? I’m on the same level as you and, as I keep _fucking_ telling you—” Mello’s voice cracked “—I’m _fine_.”

By then, every single investigator in the building had paused, realized that the situation didn’t involve them, and began filing out of the warehouse. Even with their attempts to scurry out of the way, none of them could escape Mello’s wrath as he pushed past all of them, the aura of intense anger following him out like a raincloud above his head.

Black leather books kicked up clouds of dust and dirt as the fiery blonde stormed away, soon finding himself standing next to the car he and Matt took. With the owner of the car keys remaining inside the warehouse, it wasn’t like Mello could go far. How fucking stupid would he look going back and begging Matt for the car keys?

A huff escaped his lips and his boot made contact with the ground below him in a desperate attempt to expel some of the anger boiling inside him. How would (Name) calm him at a time like this, he wondered? And then he hurriedly tried to stop wondering, because just the thought of (Name) being there – petting his hair as he cried into their chest, letting out all his worries and fears – made his eyes sting. He hoped that the tears his eyes produced were simply to clear floating dust from his eyes, but this theory was disproved more and more as choked sobs wracked Mello’s entire body.

Through the haze, he looked up at the sky which shone a cheery blue. How dare the sky look so happy while he and his brothers experienced such grief? His brothers…

While he was having this pity-fest out here in the dirt, his brothers were actually working to solve their problems.

“Fucking hell…” Mello choked, wiping the tears from his cheeks. “I’m a selfish asshole aren’t I?”

His question was directed at no one but the heavens, which is why it was so startling when an actual answer was presented to him.

“Not in the slightest.”

“WHAT THE—how long have you been standing there!? Give me a warning next time, would you?”

Near shuffled in the dirt, pushing it around with his toe. “If you wish. I just wanted to disprove your suspicions. You are not selfish for how you’re feeling right now, because I know how you’re feeling. So does Matt.”

“Yeah, and you’re actually doing something to help the investigation. Don’t act like you respect me and how I think. Like you and Roger always said: I let my emotions control me.”

“And without your emotions – your methods, too – we would never have found this warehouse in the first place. There is no shame in expressing yourself, in fact, sometimes it is better than thinking strictly based on facts. Like now. (Name) would be proud, I’d stake my life on it.”

Mello wasn’t holding his tears back anymore. Hiccups and sobs tore his throat apart without restraint. But it was when Near, hesitant yet determined, stepped forward and placed a hand on Mello’s shoulder that the blonde fell apart completely. _You can let go, no one will judge you_ , a voice whispered to him, sounding an awful lot like (Name). His legs all but collapsed underneath him, hands planting into the dirt to catch his fall but not attempting to bring himself back up. He couldn’t, anyway, his vision was too blurry and he didn’t trust himself to stand without falling.

Near’s touch remained on his shoulder and, although he didn’t see it, Mello felt movement beside him that indicated Near had gotten to the ground with him. Where did this compassionate side of stone-faced Nate come from? Then again, Mello never knew he had the capacity to be such a blubbering baby. Surprises everywhere.

“They’ll come back to us,” Near promised, patting his brother’s leather-clad shoulder as if he was unsure of what to do from there, “They have to. They already left us once.”

* * *

_After the incident at Gamestop ((Name) hadn’t forced Near to give back the game he stole for Matt. The boys suspected they held a grudge against the rude employee who nearly choked Matt out) the group traveled from store to store, collecting an entire shopping bag’s worth of items at each store they went to._

_At first, the boys suspected (Name) was purchasing so many things for them to ease them into the mentality that it was okay to ask them for things, but then it started getting rather ridiculous._

_With a mountain of shopping bags to haul around, (Name) opted to wait by the door alongside said mountain while the boys shopped so that their already purchased items wouldn’t be stolen. Right now, (Name) waited by the entrance of an obscure clothing store that had caught Mello’s eye. Most of the customers had fled from the store as soon as the group entered. The two rowdy adolescent boys must have been a deal breaker for them. Two minutes hadn’t even passed before Mello and Matt had completely taken over the dressing rooms, tossing clothes over the sides to each other and modeling clothes for one another. Near was staying by the checkout area, poking through the little baskets of trinkets and making idle small talk with the cashier. It was truly an adorable sight to behold, and for a split second (Name) forgot that the three boys weren’t their own children._

_“(Name)! Can we get these?”_

_It was Matt, holding up a pile of clothes while Mello struggled to get his arms through a leather vest._

_“I told you, you don’t have to ask, Matty. Should I just give you my credit card?”_

_“Oh, no you don’t have to—“_

_“I’m joking, hon. But of course you can.”_

_Crossing the store to the register, (Name) pulled out their wallet. Near grabbed their hand the moment they were within reach, still mumbling to the cashier as they scanned the copious amounts of clothes Matt and Mello had picked out. With each beep of the scanner, (Name) could practically hear Roger chewing them out for spoiling L’s successors so much. They shrugged the thought away. It wouldn’t matter much anymore, anyway._

_“Are you sure about this, (Name)? This is a bit excessive.” Near was the first to notice it. Yes, (Name) was a generous person, the kindest the boys knew. But this…this was, as Near put it,_ excessive _. Perhaps it was the material items to be gained and the general greed of finally being able to get whatever they wanted, but Mello and Matt were blind to the abnormality of the situation until it was pointed out to them._

 _“Yes, I’m sure. I_ want _to do this for you, so shush and let me buy you things.”_

_Near’s concerned gaze shifted to his brothers. Mello and Matt returned Near’s stare, then shared a look with each other. As if the mental message was relayed between all three of them, the three boys now realized that something was off. Even the two who had been wrapped up in their new possessions a few minutes ago seemed to understand with the grave expression of the white-haired boy. Then, (Name) retrieved the bagged clothes from the counter and bid a polite farewell to the cashier, beckoning the boys to follow them as they headed for the store’s exit._

_"_ _So, where to next?”_

_With another shared glance, L’s successors agreed on a plan._

_“I was thinking that it would be neat to have a TV in my room. To play games on and stuff,” Matt said as casually as he could._

_“Hm. Why not? Let me just see here…” (Name) began to pull out their wallet once more and, although it was nearly empty their credit card was still tucked into one of the smaller pockets. “Alright, what kind?”_

_“(Name), stop!”_

_(Name) did. They halted in their tracks and turned around, startled at Mello’s sudden increase in volume. “Why, what’s wrong?”_

_“You! Why do you keep buying us whatever we want? And don’t say it’s just because you want to, this isn’t like you. You usually have some sort of backbone, but this is just…weird.”_

_Matt and Near nodded. (Name) held each boy’s gaze for a few seconds. They all looked worried, scared even. They couldn’t keep doing this, it was just too cruel. Why hadn’t they told them before?_

_(Name) sighed, pulling their charges away from the crowd of mallgoers and into a hallway off to the side. They set their bags against a wall and knelt down next to them at the boys’ general eye level. “I didn’t want to do this in a public place, and it’s kind of my fault that we have to in the first place. I should have told you sooner.”_

_Mello, Matt, and Near said nothing as they awaited further explanation. In fact, they didn’t even breathe. It was like if even a single noise from either of them would interrupt (Name) enough for them to stop speaking and check if they were alright –but (Name) went on._

_“Roger and I had a talk, and he thinks that you boys are grown enough for you to not need me anymore. And I…Well, I don’t want you to be dependent on someone so much as you get older, so I…”_

_“Are you saying you agree with him!?” shouted Mello._

_“I’m saying that I want you three to grow up without someone holding your hand through it all. It’s not like I want to never see you again, of course I’ll be here if you ever truly need me—“_

_“But you’re leaving us.”_

_“Mello, please, it’s not like that.”_

_“(Name)…you’re buying us all this stuff to make up for…?” Matt didn’t even need to finish to know the answer. He didn’t think he_ could _finish anyway, not without breaking._

_“I know it doesn’t exactly make up for my absence, but I hoped…oh, I don’t know what I hoped.”_

_“You hoped to soften the blow,” Near finished. Unlike his brothers, he found no trouble in looking (Name) in the eyes. No tears were threatening to spill over the lids of his oddly wide eyes, but none of that stopped him from sounding hurt._

_“In a way…I suppose.”_

_What were any of them supposed to do now? It wasn’t like they could continue shopping like nothing happened. Should they leave? That would only make (Name)’s departure feel more solemn than it needed to. Then…what?_

_Eventually, though, as patrons around them passed by like lives hadn’t just been flipped upside down, Near answered the question of “What now?” for everyone. He stepped forward hesitantly and wrapped his tiny arms around his caregiver’s neck, hiding his face in their clothes. “We’ll miss you,” he mumbled, and effectively got a whiff of the scent he’d grown accustomed to over the years – (Name)’s detergent, which always seemed to serve as an effective calming agent for the albino boy. When that scent was around, he knew he was loved. He knew someone would be there to care for him and hold him when he needed it. Someone would be there to treat him like a child and not just the successor to L, world’s greatest detective – and he knew his brothers felt the same._

_And soon, despite how angry or confused the other two boys might have been, they surrendered themselves to the tender moment. Mello snuggled into (Name)’s right side while Matt took their left. No one dared to speak a word, not even when their caregiver bowed their head, shoulders shaking with poorly concealed sobs. None of them wondered what the people around them must have thought, because they didn’t matter at all right now. And they wouldn’t matter for the hour that the four of them stayed there, blocking out the chatter and bustle of the outside world. Because soon, they wouldn’t be able to share their tears with anyone else, wouldn’t have a shoulder to cry on when the stress became too much, like it had for A. Mello, Matt, and Near genuinely believed that it was (Name) who prevented them from suffering the same fate as their beloved sibling, and now that (Name) would be leaving, what would their fates entail?_

* * *

What could they do now? All the evidence was gathered and being processed at the moment and all they could really do was think. Thinking annoyed them, now. With nothing new presenting itself it was just the same old theories whirling around in their heads.

(Name)’s kidnapper was dead. Presumably, (Name) was the one who shot him. Where would they go from there?

Out in the middle of nowhere with no one to interview but the mosquitos, they decided it was time to head…somewhere else. Anywhere else. They all piled into Matt’s car with no real destination in mind, setting off to the road which was now shrouded in a veil of darkness due to the setting sun. For a while Matt drove without any problems, until the sun was completely hidden behind the horizon and he had to take off his goggles. The orange tint wasn’t helping his vision at all, even with the headlights cranked up to full power. But eventually, even without his goggles, Matt found his vision blurring. He tried to blink, and noticed that his eyes had become extremely heavy. When was the last time he slept anyway? It had to be…ah, why was the road going all sideways like that?

“MATT!” came a shout from beside the redhead, breaking his trance. Before he could even think to react the steering wheel was being moved while Matt’s own hands slid uselessly from the leather. Next thing he knew, the car wasn’t moving anymore. Did he do that? Oh, Mello’s foot was stomped over his own on the break. “Are you okay!?”

“Yeah, I think so I…Fuck, I’m really tired…” Matt admitted, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

“Alright, why don’t I drive us to the nearest rest stop?”

Matt nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt. He and Mello traded seats, and soon they were barreling down the road while Near pulled up a GPS, rattling off directions before Mello missed the turns. Luckily a gas station was only a few miles from where Matt almost crashed. So, all three boys clambered out of the car, now parked in the lot right outside the station’s little convenience store and headed inside.

The bell above the door chimed, a mechanical, low-pitched sound followed by the smell of flat soda and the low hum of a heater. It wasn’t the coldest it could be outside, but there was a pretty prominent bite that made Matt immediately draw his hands in close to his body and blow hot air into his palms, grateful for even the little bit of warmth the heater provided.

He headed straight for the freezers at the back of the store, packed full of energy drinks and iced coffee and the very essence of _caffeine_ that he needed right about now. He grabbed a six pack of soda and a can of iced coffee to hold him over for now and placed them on the front counter for checkout. While the poor nightshift employee scanned his items, Matt took a moment to track his brothers.

Mello was milling around an isle Matt was sure contained rows and rows of various chocolates, and Near was following close behind the blonde. Matt felt kind of bad, dragging Near out into a public place like this in the middle of the night. The white haired boy kept a close eye on the door, and flinched when it actually opened for someone to walk in.

Upon a vague inspection of the newcomer, Matt couldn’t blame Near for shrinking into Mello’s side. They looked about as suspicious as a person could possibly look. A hood was pulled up over their eyes, giving anyone who glanced at them a view of their chin and that was pretty much it. Their hands were stuffed into the pockets of the heavy jacket. They moved like they knew what they were doing, like they had done it a million times – crossing the store to get to the freezers like Matt had done and grabbing a two liter bottle of soda. Soon the person was standing behind Matt with their soda, head angled down. Their nails tapped at the plastic of their bottle while they waited for their turn to be checked out.

Whatever. At this point Matt was barely concerned with anyone possibly attacking him, just let him have his goddamn caffeine. Eventually he was given what he wanted as the cashier slid his stuff over the counter for him to take, which he did rather clumsily. The redhead huffed when his coffee tipped over and rolled off onto the floor. At least it didn’t burst, he thought while crouching down to pick it up. To his surprise, the stranger he figured might mug him was also bent over in the midst of assisting him. They beat him to it, quickly handing him the can and adjusting their hood.

“Ahg, thanks a lot,” Matt sighed, readying to stand back up when he looked up to the stranger. At that angle, he got a decent view up their hood. “U-uh—…”

Panic set in – apparently for both parties. While Matt was frozen, the hooded person bolted. Their soda crashed to the ground, but it didn’t look like they cared. Before anyone knew what even happened they were throwing open the door and rushing out into the parking lot.

How? And why—ah, what even was the point of asking any questions now? Matt didn’t know anything except that he _had_ to follow them. And he did, even when Mello tugged at his wrist to get him to just stop for a second and tell them what was happening. But Matt knew that even if he tried he couldn’t sum up what just happened, so he just kept going. Through the glass door, into the lot – he spotted them. Mello’s shouts echoed in Matt’s ears. Even Near’s scolding tone reached him. But he could explain later, once he caught them.

Matt’s hand clamped around the person’s wrist, pulling them to a stop, their shoes dragging on the concrete. But once they were caught, they didn’t fight anymore, like they knew when they were beaten. However, they still faced away, their hood protecting their face.

“Matt, what the hell was that!?”

“Please,” Matt ignored his brother’s questioning, hand tightening around the person’s wrist. “Please…turn around, (Name). I’m begging you.”

The two boys behind Matt clamped their lips shut mid-sentence. All three stood in silence, waiting in unspoken impatience to see what the person would do, how they would respond. But, if they were indeed a stranger, they would not have turned around and pulled their hood down.

Then, all too suddenly, Mello, Matt, and Near were staring (Name) in the face. It couldn’t be, they reasoned. This just…this was too easy. After all the work they put into their investigation…finding them in a gas station? What kind of sick and twisted joke was this?

But then again, what did any of that matter?

“(Name)…?” Mello finally spoke, stepping forward. His hands were clearly shaking, twitching like all he wanted to do was throw his arms around (Name) and, eventually, he stopped holding back and did just that. “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?”

(Name)’s face, previously somber, contorted with the tears that pricked their eyes. Seeing their face clearly now, Matt noticed how sunken their facial structure had become.

“I know, Mels, I…I can’t apologize enough,” (Name) choked, all while rubbing Mello’s back in a failed attempt to soothe his violently shaking form.

“Why,” Near said. Matt couldn’t have said it better himself. “You were here all this time. Why not…why not contact us? Tell us you were alright? Did any of that come to mind when you escaped?” now _his_ temper was rising. _Near’s_.

“I couldn’t. I promise all of you if I could have safely, I would have.” Although their words were suffocated by Mello’s shoulder, it wasn’t difficult to hear them when the boys were clinging onto every syllable they uttered. “I couldn’t drag you boys into this…”

It was Matt’s turn to weigh in, now. “Into what? Our job? Our job is to catch the killers, here—“

“ _I’m_ the killer, here, Matt! Don’t you get that!?” (Name)’s quivering fingers clamped around Mello’s shoulders, holding him out at arm’s length. “You’re supposed to be arresting me, not hugging me!”

“That was self-defense!”

“And what evidence do we have of that?”

The boys all looked at each other.

“Your apartment looks like shit! The window’s broken and everything—“

“So now people can’t break their own windows? That’s not guaranteed to hold up in court, Matt, and you know it.”

“It’s worth a shot!”

“No, just stop! If I _am_ coming forward, I’m not taking you down with me. I limited myself to watching you from afar for a reason, and that backfired, not that I can say I’m not happy about that because I get to see your faces up close—“

“Wait,” Near interrupted, “You were watching us? For how long?”

(Name)’s eyes widened, kicking themself for letting that slip. But they thought about the answer to Near’s question, determining after a few seconds, “For a week now. I just… I couldn’t talk to you – that’s what I told myself – but I could observe. I got carried away tonight, I got too close and…well, here we are. I hoped you’d let me go when you thought I was gone.”

“Do we really seem like people that let things go?”

(Name) let out a tear-filled laugh. “Well, I…I guess not.”

“That’s right. And we’re not letting you go so easily.”

It’d been so long, neither of them thought they’d see that look of pure adoration (Name) always gave them, the same look they gave them right then.

“We can bend the rules,” said Near. “We’ll make some calls. You aren’t leaving us again.”

“Boys…”

“Nope!” Matt exclaimed playfully, linking his and (Name)’s arms and starting for his car, parked not too far from where they stood. “No more protests. You look terrible, so we’re gonna buy you some food and get you a shower because, _wow_ —“

“Alright, ease up, Matty! If you get kidnapped I’d like to see how well you handle it.” They phrased it as a joke, but it was clearly anything but false. They weren’t doing well – who would be? Their once lively face was now somewhat grey. The light had left their eyes, even when laughing at their own joke like they always did. But they weren’t alone now – the boys of Wammy’s house would make sure of that. They’d care for (Name) for as long as it took to get them back on track. It was the least they could do, considering (Name) practically raised them when no one else would.

“Wait, just—“ (Name) halted their journey to the car to pull each boy close to them all at once in a monstrous hug “—You’re all so grown up, I…It’s hard to believe you used to be my little boys.”

“We still are,” Near said, “Just like you’ll always be the best parent anybody could ask for.”

* * *

(Name) never would have thought of themselves as a parent. It was just something that they never thought they could do. Babysitting was a completely different story. You don’t have to shape a child’s life when you’re simply looking after them for a few hours a day. But a few hours turned into an entire day, which evolved into a few days spent at Wammy’s, sleeping in one of their empty rooms. Without knowing or even intending to, (Name) ended up raising the top three successors to L more than Roger ever did. The “guest room” became “(Name)’s room” and everyone at the orphanage became comfortable with having them around constantly. It was just a given that (Name) would be there when they woke up and as they fell asleep. If anyone had a nightmare, (Name) would gladly soothe them back to bed.

So, in a way, these kids were their own. And they could confidently say that they still were to this day. As they brought home their groceries, made them meal plans to make sure they were eating properly, put them to bed at proper times (despite the resistance), and kissed their wounds. Mello, Matt, and Near became their own family. Neither of them would have it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW OKAY DAMN
> 
> I’m so sorry for the wait and I’m not sure if the ending was what I wanted it to be but I had fun while it lasted. Expect some shorter chapters, maybe scenarios instead of full on oneshots for a while after this because my brain has been officially exhausted for months now. Thanks, education system!
> 
> I did have some thoughts for another series that I’ll definitely plan out better than I did this one, though. I was thinking either a dating sim au or a host club au with a chapter for the reader to get to know each character. I wasn’t sure whether that should be its own separate book or not, considering a chapter for every character might bet a bit long. Let me know what you think, and thank you again so much for reading!!


	17. All — Pet Peeves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A scenario covering what they dislike when it comes to you. It’s not as bad as it sounds, trust me. It’s a bit short but hopefully when break starts up for me I can work on more oneshots and stuff!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is very late but in December 13th and 14th I was very happy to celebrate Mello and Matsuda’s birthdays respectively! My best friend and I even made Mello a chocolate cake! 
> 
> So, happy late birthday to two of my favorite Death Note characters! I celebrated their birthdays actually on time on my Reddit (u/ChocolateMarshmellos) with portraits of the boys, so check that out if you’re interested! :)

Mello~

considering Mello has a pretty severe inferiority complex, he doesn’t enjoy hearing people he loves talk down on themselves — especially you. Because he truly believes you are one of the most kind and genuine people out there, it pains him to think that you don’t see in yourself what he sees in you.

That being said, your self deprecating humor is the bane of his existence, even if it is just meant as a joke. You keep insisting you don’t really mean it, so he lets it go for a while. There was, however, one day where you went way too far. You’d handed him his gun, pointed it to your head and told him to shoot, all with a smile on your face. He had to have a talk with you after that, for his well-being and especially yours.

Matt~

It’s your constant need to feel involved in the Kira case for him.

Whether you’re usually like that or not, something about  this case — he guesses it’s his own involvement in it — that makes you want to know what’s going on at all times and help out as much as you can. It scares him half to death. His childhood best friend is already in as deep as he can be, so the last thing he wants is to lose you too if it comes to that.

He remembers a morning when he woke up and you were nowhere to be found. He assumed you had gone to go after Kira yourself and ran to Mello in a panic. He was beyond relieved when you came home with groceries a few minutes later. 

Near~

You seem to get this sick pleasure out of destroying all of his towers. It drives him crazy. And yes, Near knows there are worse things for him to ridicule about you but when he spends hours on a tower made completely of dice alone only for you to knock it down, he gets a little annoyed.

And the worse part — sometimes it’s not even on purpose. This tends to be the case more so after you realize your actions truly annoy him and you stop. Unfortunately it seems to be unconsciously engrained in your brain now, and those poor towers never stand a chance when you’re walking past. Whether it’s from a little tap of your toe or you trip and literally collapse on top of it, that tower’s going down (I’m yelling timber). 

Misa~

Honestly, it’s when you scold her for/casually bring up her past actions and mistakes. Whether it’s involving her obsession with Light or what she got herself into because of that obsession, it hurts her when you mention it. She just feels like you don’t think she’s changed at all for the better like she’s been trying to do ever since you helped her get out of Light’s manipulative grasp.

When you accidentally went a little too hard on her regarding her reckless behavior under Kira’s influence, she ended up breaking down. You profusely apologized and held her the entire night, promising to be more aware of what you say. Whether it was only a joke or you meant to make her realize her past mistakes, you genuinely didn’t mean to hurt her. 

Light~

He does not particularly enjoy when you express doubts in his plans or worry about outcomes of which he already eliminated the possibility of. Well, more like he hates it. Depending on his mood, he’ll handle your doubts one of two ways:

When he’s calm, in his room, scheming — all that good stuff — Light will pull you close, kiss your knuckles and tell you how he’s planned everything out, nothing could possibly go wrong. He’ll tell you how you’re always safe with him and has he ever let you down before? But if he’s under a lot of pressure, if something unexpected or detrimental to his plans just happened, he’s much more irritable. He’ll most likely snap at you and you get the hint, leaving and waiting for him to calm down before you go to talk things out.

L~

L does not share food. Except for that one time with Mogi and the strawberry, but that was him  offering food to someone. If L does not offer you food, then you do not  touch his food. It’s a strictly hands off policy and he makes sure you and everyone in the task force knows that. And really, he has no problem sharing...but when you take food without asking first,  that’s what gets under his skin for sure.

Usually you’re pretty good about it because he told you that he doesn’t like it the first time you did it and, of course, you respect his boundaries. But on the occasions you forget, L will take to pouting. He does so subtlety, so that the rest of the task force rarely picks up on it unless they’re watching your interactions. He’ll give you blunt answers and refuse to explain them, order way too much food from Watari and eat it all himself to make a point, that kind of thing. When you call him out for being childish, he’ll actually stick his tongue out at you which basically just proves your point. 

Matsuda~

It might sound dumb, but Matsuda cannot stand when you crack your knuckles or joints, either on purpose or by accident. The sound just makes him cringe and sends a shiver down his spine, which you make a mental note of in case you ever need to annoy him.

There was this one time when you two were sitting on the couch at home and you got up to get something when all of your joints simultaneously cracked. After that, Matsuda locked himself in the bedroom for thirty minutes straight, saying he had to get that sound out of his head before he could see you again. You’re not sure if it’s all that convenient for him to be  that grossed out by something as simple as joints cracking when he works as a police officer, but you don’t bring it up to him.


	18. All — Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How the characters would kiss their significant other! It’s shorter than all the others, but I’m planning a longer Matsuda oneshot because he is baby and he deserves it so look out for that if you’re interested :)

Mello~

His kisses are always passionate and deep. It’s like every emotion he feels towards you is being expressed through one action, it’s enough to make you blissfully dizzy.

Matt~

Matt’s kisses are usually pretty lazy, sometimes missing your mouth completely. They’re sloppy yet incredibly soft, making your heart melt every time without fail. 

Near~

Near’s kisses are rather hesitant and unsure. He wants to kiss you, he really does, he just doesn’t know when’s the right time to do so or if you want to kiss him at all. As a result, you usually end up initiating the kiss.

Matsuda~

Matsuda’s kisses are filled with smiles, usually broken apart by giggles. He gets really overexcited when you two kiss, pecking your lips over and over after the initial kiss. Usually someone has to tell him “that’s enough” or he could go all day. 

Misa~

Misa’s kisses involve her cupping your cheeks and excitedly kissing you on the lips, then proceeding to pepper your entire face with kisses as well. They’re very quick, usually because she’s happy about something and spends the rest of the time talking to you about whatever it is.

Light~

Light’s kisses don’t come often, to be quite honest, so when they do come he makes sure they are something to behold. They’re usually at their most passionate after he’s perfectly executed a plan. You can feel his excitement flow through you as your lips connect, making you go all giddy by the end of your lip-locking.

L~

Like Near, he usually isn’t the one to take initiative when it comes to affection, especially kisses. So, when you kiss L he can be quite hesitant at first, but after a few seconds he ends up melting into it. His kisses always taste like some kind of sweet, so you like to use a bit of tongue to get some of that flavor ;)


	19. Matsuda/Reader — Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like it’s been too long since I’ve added to this book. But the semester is finally over and to celebrate I have a Matsuda oneshot for you all!   
> I’m trying to get more into making planned out plot lines rather than just sweet moments between you and the characters, so I hope I did alright.

This wasn’t an afternoon like any other.

_ No, shut up! It’s the same as any other day. _

Something _ big  _ was about to go down.

_ It’s not big, it’s normal! Normal sized, normal day! _

Your heart was practically beating out of your chest, slamming against your rib cage so hard you swore it made your body sway a tad bit forward.

_ Everything is going to go fine, no disasters. _

You stood in front of your mirror, combing out your hair. The bathroom was dead silent save for your short, uneasy breaths. You tried your best to draw them out to how you normally breathed, but you began to try so hard to breathe normally that you forgot how you normally breathed altogether.

Is this pace too slow? Am I not getting enough air? Is that why the room’s spinning or am I just panicking for no reason?

You weren’t panicking.  You swear you weren’t. Maybe you were just breathing so fast and your heart was racing so much because you were dying! Yeah, that could be it! You almost preferred that possibility to what you were in store for later that evening — something set to occur around 6:00 pm sharp. Dinner. Doesn’t sound so bad right?

Wrong. You almost laughed at yourself bitterly for thinking so absurdly — doesn’t sound so bad? Maybe when you don’t have all the details. So, let’s rephrase that, shall we?

Dinner. With your boyfriend’s parents.

Ah, speak of the devil. You turned around at the sound of a light knock at the bathroom doorframe. Touta Matsuda, the adorable little puppy dog of a human, stood with his fist still curled and his knuckles against the doorframe. He asked you if you were nearly ready to head out, his dark eyebrows upturned with light creases denting his forehead.

You jolted. With a lightening fast grab at your phone you tore it from its spot on the counter and looked at the time — how was it already 5:40!? Hadn’t you started brushing your hair around 4:00? You didn’t even want to begin to think about the fact that you’d been standing at the mirror for  _forty whole minutes_ telling yourself you weren’t panicking. And the worst part — that reverse psychology didn’t even leave a mark! Your chest still felt tight and nothing felt right. Oh no... you’re  thinking in  rhyme.  You had to do something quick, before you started to speak in riddles like some kind of bridge troll.

“Hey, Teddy Bear?”

“What’s up? You don’t look too good...”

Even staring at yourself in the mirror for nearly an hour didn’t allow you to notice until Matsuda pointed it out. When you looked back at your reflection, you saw the truth in his statement. You looked very put together overall — clothes neat and without a single crease marring the fabric — but your face was paler than it had ever been before. Your eyes had sunken from lack of sleep, as you were tossing and turning for hours the previous night just thinking about your arrangement for that evening. You just looked  _ scared _ .

“I’m gonna be completely honest with you,” you began, stepping closer to your boyfriend and weaving your arms around his waist. The soft fabric of his dress shirt calmed you enough to get the words out without choking on them. “I’m really, really nervous about tonight. They’re gonna hate me for this—“

“Hey, don’t say that! It’s no one’s fault that we‘ve both been too busy to formally meet my folks since we started dating. I mean, I am a cop after all, and this case hadn’t exactly been easy on me or anyone on my team.” Matsuda reasoned. It was always hard to argue with him when he had this whole “optimist” thing going on. He was just too cute and cheerful to claim anything he said was a lie.

You sighed, trying to fight back with more doubts, “But it’s been  _ forever _ . They’re gonna think I’m avoiding them or something!”

“Nonsense! If anything they’ll be grateful for you taking care of me every night when I get home from work. I still don’t know how you do it. You’re too patient with me, babe! Not that I’m telling you to stop, of course! It’s— well, you know what I mean!”

Dammit, Matsu’s cuteness struck you down once more and, against your will, you were forced to give into his positivity. You let out a laugh, tightening your grip around his waist and resting your chin on his broad shoulder. “Yeah, I guess so.”

But he was forgetting one little thing. You had absolutely no idea what kind of people Matsuda’s parents were, so how they would react to something like this was beyond your comprehension. Though, you didn’t think terrible people could have produced someone so pure hearted and precious. Still, you had no idea how formal they were, if they cared whether you told them yet or not. If they were opposed to how you were going about this or if they would support you. And Matsuda, being the kind person he was, wanted to tell them the important news in person, so there was no avoiding this any longer.

“Listen, I...when we talked about marriage I didn’t agree to it  despite my parents.” Matsuda hummed, taking hold of your lower back to pull you closer to him as a gesture of comfort. “They know you exist, at least! They know we’ve been dating for a while and they know you make me happy. So what would be the issue?”

You sighed, rolling your eyes and dropping your forehead onto his shoulder.  _ Goddammit, he’s right. _

You just had to make Teddy Bea— Uh, Matsuda’s parents like you! Then they’d support your relationship, and in turn your decision to get married. End of story. Well, you’d have to see them again, like at the wedding, but you’d cross that bridge once you got to it!

Yeah, okay. Maybe, with the comfort of your fiancé beside you (was is okay to call him that? You haven’t even bought an engagement ring yet...), just maybe, you could do this.

Probably.

* * *

_ This shit’s gonna be easy _ , you told yourself. And, you know the funny thing? You actually started to believe it.

It was like all of the comforting words Matsuda blessed your ears with before actually had some effect and, now that you stood at his parent’s doorstep, the tight feeling in your chest had eased up. Your head stopped pounding with your own heartbeat drumming in your ears. You felt comfortable, even when Matsuda knocked on the door before taking ahold of your hand.

Soon enough, an older woman answered to the knocks. Her face, marred with smile lines, brightened at the sight of you two. She was on the shorter side, but by no means did she appear weak. Her hands held a strong grip on the door as she held it open, and such energy gave off a giddy and caring aura about her. She stepped aside and held a hand out, gesturing for you to come in with a cheerful call of “Hello there! Oh, come in, come in. Honey, they’re here!”

You allowed Matsuda to take the lead, guiding you inside behind him, connected by your hands still. With only a few steps, the slight bite of the chilly fall air outside had vanished in an instant only to be replaced by a warm and fuzzy atmosphere. It had the air of a home that was prepared for guests, which served to make your heart flutter at the idea that you were important enough to make people want to prepare their home for you.

A staircase occupied the farthest wall to the right, and beyond that led to a dining room. While candles dotted the table, plates were set up neatly in front of every chair for four people. The burning candles gave off the scent of a pine forest, filling your nostrils and effectively making you even more calm. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

Another set of footsteps was soon given a face — a tall, lanky man with the same messily styled and dark hair as your beloved boyfriend — presumably Matsuda’s father. This presumption was made into fact as the man glommed into Matsuda, patting his back and barely giving your boyfriend any air in his lungs to speak properly.

“Hey, mom! Hey, dad! I really missed you guys. Whatever you’re cooking smells amazing, too!”

You couldn’t say he was wrong. You couldn’t really place it with the pine scented candles mixing with the scent, but whatever it was, it was making your mouth water.

“O-oh, um, this is (Name). They’re that person I was talking to you guys about on the phone the other day,” The now suddenly bashful Matsuda introduced on your behalf.

“Hi there, it’s really nice to meet you both!” You greeted, shameful that you didn’t think to say something sooner.

“Oh, well aren’t you just the sweetest thing? Come this way, dear, don’t just stand around!”

“O-oh, alright—“

“So!” The boisterous man by Matsuda’s side called. He clapped his son on the shoulder, looking from him to you with a teasing quirk in his brow. “You’ve finally decided to come visit now, have you?”

“Oh, don’t give them a hard time!” Matsuda’s mother interjected, holding up a nearby dish towel with a threatening glower, no real malice behind it. Matsuda’s father held up his hands in mock surrender.

You smiled, forcing the corners of your lips upwards although you couldn’t force it to meet your eyes. you felt absolutely terrible. These people opened up their home to you, cooked for you, let you go out with their son, and yet you couldn’t tell them that you wanted to marry their son, and he wanted the same. Occasionally you shared a glance with Matsuda, who only stared back with eyes that said “not yet”. And you hated the fact that you felt overwhelming relief each time you received that look from him. The fact was — you  _ didn’t _ want to tell them. If you did there would be no going back, no do-overs. But at the same time you wanted to get it off your chest more than anything in the world. You wanted their son’s hand in marriage. That’s not usually anything to sneeze at for older folks. To you and your boyfriend marriage was mostly about the gesture...and the tax benefits, you couldn’t lie. But older folks tended to generally be more traditional, and marriage was viewed as something  huge . Even if you didn’t technically agree with them, you wanted to do your best to respect those values.

And yet, all you were doing was lying to their faces. Well, was it lying if all you were doing was keeping something from them? Was it just as wrong? Of fucking course it was.  There’s no way out of this one, you’re a horrible person and that’s that. Shit.

But even as you all sat at your designated seats around the dinner table, not a peep left your mouth. As Matsuda’s mother began to dish out servings of her incredible-smelling cooking with the help of her husband, you only uttered words of thanks. You really couldn’t thank them enough, considering the bomb you were about to drop onto their lives.

You all ate peacefully with the light conversation making it’s way around the table. Matsuda and his parents were quite possibly the easiest people to talk to that you ever did meet. No joke had to be held back for fear of being judged, and a few of your little comments caused Matsuda’s father to choke on his food from laughter. You and Matsu’s mom took to ganging up on the men for their apparent shared habit of snoring like a monster at night, the both of them getting defensive with claims that they had no way to control that kind of thing. You and Matsu even shared a few stories from your albeit limited amount of time alone together, going to the park or visiting a museum. It was only when a lull in conversation caused a bout of silence to overtake the room did you look to Matsuda for some assistance in keeping up conversation, only to find him looking at you with determined eyes.

Oh. So it was time, was it? Alright, you could do this.

You breathed in deeply through your nose, clasping your partner’s hand under the table.

“Mom, dad? We uh...Well, we have something to tell you,” Matsu admitted, his voice starting out as nothing more than a whisper and gradually increasing in volume. You rubbed your thumb over the back of his hand.

“Oh? Good news or bad news?” His mother inquired, eyebrows creasing slightly with a tinge of worry which the playful tone in her voice failed to mask.

“I hope you think it’s good news! Uh, so, (Name) and I...well, it’s good to see that you guys seem to be getting along well! Can I just say that before I start? Yeah...so. Okay, um—“

“Son, you know you can tell us anything. Just say it, we won’t be angry with you.” Something in the older man’s tone told youhe already somewhat caught on to the situation. He just wanted to hear it from his son first, which was understandable.

“We’re going to get married,” Matsuda blurted. The slight jitters you felt in his hand eased up immensely after he said it. His shoulders relaxed, and his lips stretched with a smile. “We aren’t exactly sure when or where, we don’t even have the rings yet, but we’ve talked it through and...well, we’re doing it.”

Your gaze, which was fixed on your Teddy Bear throughout his entire explanation, absolutely adoring the loving glint in his eyes as he talked about your future together, shifted back to his parents. What you were met with did not exactly please you.

“...oh. Well, dear, I...”

“It’s not that we aren’t happy for you two, don’t get us wrong...”

It took you a while to completely comprehend what you were hearing.

“What...? You don’t want us to get married?” Matsuda chimed in before you could say anything, not that you were even sure that you could.

“We didn’t say that!” The older woman defended, inching up to sit on the edge of her seat. Ah, yes. Battle mode. “Far from it, actually. All we want is for you to be sure that you’re ready.”

Matsuda’s dad nodded, continuing with his wife’s sentiment, “You said yourself that you’ve been too busy to come see us, so how much of that time have you really had with each other?”

You couldn’t even argue against them. It was true, you and Matsuda haven’t really been able to spend a ton of time together lately. Perhaps marriage was what you both seemed to agree would act as a patch — something you thought would fix your issues as soon as you could call Matsuda your husband. But how much better off would you be after that?

“I...mom, dad...” Matsuda’s words faded, disintegrating into nothingness as his hope seemed to do along with it. He hung his head as his grip on your hand loosened but, before it could completely slip from you, you clasped it tightly.

“Thank you so much for your advice,” you said, marveling that you managed to keep your voice from wavering. “We’ll think it over.”

The burn of Matsuda’s eyes could practically be felt boring into you. You knew he was upset, you knew he was confused. But the very last thing you wanted to do was end the night on a bad note. You could try your best to save what was left of your first impression dinner and talk about  _ this _ later. When you were alone.

“...yes, o-of course. Ah, would anyone like a second helping?”

* * *

About an hour of stiff conversation and shifting glances later, you and Matsuda decided that perhaps it was time to leave.

He hugged his parents goodbye with noticeably less enthusiasm than he had when he’d first greeted them, and you took to simply waving and thanking them for the meal.

Once you were outside, a shiver ran down your spine. The temperature had dropped considerably, now with the moon in place of the sun overhead and clouds of fog taking to the air every time you exhaled.

“I’m...I’m sorry,” you heard from beside you. Your head swiveled to meet the eyes of your boyfriend only to find that his were directed towards the ground. “That didn’t go as I thought it would.”

Your mouth opened to answer, only to close again. It was easier to grab his hand, which was swinging limply at his side, at thread your own fingers through his. So, that’s what you did.

Matsuda flinched, eyes shooting toward the point at which your hands were connected, staring at it with wide eyes. Once he was over his shock, he gave you a grin — a smile that turned his eyes into crescents and warmed his cheeks with a soft blush.  That smile was what always told you that everything would be okay.

You stopped walking so suddenly that Matsuda nearly tripped trying to stop in time.

“What’s wrong? (N-name!?)”

Matsuda covered his mouth as he stared down at you, now kneeling on one knee in front of him. You never let go of his hand, but kept it clasped in yours. Your lips met his knuckles, thumb brushing over the spot that you kissed afterwards. 

This was not the end of the world. So you shouldn’t get married, so what? It’s not like that’s your main goal anyway. Marriage — your method of escape from actually facing your problems — would have to wait. Big deal. That just left more time to spend with your adorable Teddy Bear without the stress of a wedding hanging over your heads. Any breaks you two had in work could be used to get to know each other better, relearn those things about each other that might have slipped from your memories due to time apart.

“Touta, I love you. I love you too much to let this stupid disagreement do any damage to our relationship. I want us to become stronger because of this. We don’t need a legal binding to tell us that we belong together. So, this isn’t a proposal, but a promise — Whether we’re married or not, I will do my best to make you the happiest man alive and let you know each and every day how much I care for you. And, if we still want to, later on when we know we’re in a stable place, we can get married.”

A splash of water hit the ground in front of you. You blinked, expecting more to come in the form of a rain shower until you realized that water was the tears still rolling down Matsuda’s rosy cheeks. “Yeah, that—“ he sniffed, wiping his face with the sleeve of his jacket, “—that sounds good.”

“Just good?” You joked.

“A-amazing? I can’t really find the words right now...but I  do want everything you just said. I’m just a little surprised that, what with how tonight was going with me consoling you, you’d end up doing the same for me by the end!” The ravenette scratched the back of his head, averting his eyes, “I d-don’t really feel like the one wearing the pants in this relationship right now!”

“Who said you were in the first place?” You muttered, rising to your feet and heading off toward your car.

“Wh-wh-what!? Hey, get back here!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next I have planned a Mello/Delinquent!Reader and a Mermaid!L/Cryptid Obsessed!Reader
> 
> Stay tuned if you’re interested!


	20. Being in the Mafia With Mello Would Include...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine’s Day to all! 
> 
> I thought I’d celebrate the day of love by posting a little bit of a ramble chapter that I wrote instead of sleeping a while ago, so I hope you enjoy! It’s Mello because...I’m obsessed. ❤️

  * dude, it’s dangerous stuff. It has been made clear to you many times — by others in the mafia and yourself — that love has no place in a situation like this. If you dated anyone, you would be putting their life at risk, and them yours. Ten times the dangers to worry about. Not even worth it.



  * So why was he just so damn _pretty_? No matter how much you tried it was pretty much impossible to stay away. Well, not impossible, but you really _really_ didn’t want to.



  * And it was strange, but you got the feeling Mello felt the same way. He was usually the one who sent you on jobs (because Rod is the “boss” but lets be honest, it’s Mello who calls the shots), and lately you have only been receiving assignments that were close to home base. Whether it was just you being paranoid or he wanted to keep you as safe as someone in the Mafia could be — you didn’t know. You just liked pretending that it was the latter.



  * But Mello was a hard person to like romantically — not in a bad way, it’s just that he gets really focused on one specific goal he has set for himself. You admired this about him, and you wish you had the same drive and passion he does...it’s just that sometimes _you_ want his attention too.



  * So sometimes you’d end up pulling dangerous stunts on your mission. Sometimes they’d get you into some trouble and he’d have to help (which wasn’t always a bad thing), and other times you would come back with a triumphant grin on your face and the head of one of your enemies on a platter (metaphorically, of course...Mostly). Either way, Mello would be with you for longer than usual and you didn’t care if he was scolding you or reluctantly praising your reckless actions. Because he was there, and that was all that mattered.



  * But sometimes seeing him so invested in his goals can sometimes make you feel...bad, instead of admiration. You don’t like seeing him so worked up over a goal that essentially means that he doesn’t think he’s good enough. Which is ludicrous — you think he’s perfect the way he is.



  * Which leads you to be a little more affectionate towards him than anyone else. This...can be a bit of a problem, considering this is the Mafia and no one ever gets “affectionate” with anyone unless they want to sleep with someone for leverage or whatever the hell (idk how mafias work okay? Cut me some slack here please). Basically, you stand out like a sore thumb.



  * One time he was sitting on the couch, elbows planted into his knees as he rubbed his temples and you asked him in he wanted to rest his head on your lap. Let’s just say heads turned. He looked at you with those adorable freaky big eyes narrowed and declined as if you had just insulted him. Which, given his ego, you probably had.



  * You never made a mistake like that again, but you did decide to show your love in more subtle ways.



  * Sometimes Mello would come into the hideout to find that his chocolate stash was running low. Later that day, after you walked past him, he felt an abnormal heaviness in his pocket. Reaching into his coat, he pulled out a bar of chocolate of the exact brand he usually bought for himself. He turned it around, flipping it to each side and inspecting it as if to check for a secret hidden explosive. Finding none, he graciously accepted your little offering and pointedly gnawed on it in front of you later that evening.



  * Slowly, your “relationship” started to become more prominent. Mello began returning your small favors through subtle nuances of his own — you saw him fiddling with a chocolate wrapper as he sat deep in thought one day, only to find said wrapper folded into a little crane and left in your jacket pocket as you walked home.



  * The days Matt visited were always the most entertaining. He was the closest anyone could really be to Mello, so it was easy for him to pick up on the blonde’s mannerisms and the emotions that caused them.



  * He was chilling in the common area, no one else in the room besides you and Mello. It was fairly silent save for the tip-tapping of the keys on Matt’s computer as he worked, and the gentle crunch of a chocolate wrapper as Mello snapped pieces from the candy. You really had nothing else to do, no jobs, no nothing. And you knew Matt was a chill guy, so nothing was really stopping you from taking the straw and it’s wrapper from your to-go cup, placing the tip of the wrapper onto the straw, and shooting it at the blonde across from you with a sharp blow.



  * “What the hell was that for!?”



  * “wHaT ThE heLL wAs tHaT fOr!?”



  * Suddenly the coffee table was being kicked into your legs. Rather than yelling, you started to giggle uncontrollably as you and Mello both started to push the coffee table with your feet, trying to push it into the other’s legs and...I don’t know, break them? What was really the ultimate goal here?



  * You had no idea, all you knew was that not only were you hyperventilating with laughter, but Mello’s scowl had actually begun to transform into a smile.



  * The moment you saw the corners of Mello’s mouth quirk upwards in a genuine, childish smile, you knew you were dead. You had fallen _hard_ and there was no going back now.



  * In your daze, Mello had managed to shove the edge of the table against your legs, pinning them to the front of the couch you sat on. The laughter died down, and you realized that, oh yeah, Matt was still there. The redhead hadn’t even looked up from his work, but a smirk was pulling at his lips.



  * “So what are mafia weddings like? You throw bullets instead of rice?”



  * “MATT I SWEAR—“



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dudes I got a cactus today and I’m so excited I named it Aphrodite (‘Cause Valentine’s Day??? Get it???) and I love it so much. Glad I got to spend my Valentine’s Day with it 💕


End file.
